We Are Broken
by lizzybennettdarcy
Summary: Finn asked Rachel to marry him and she said yes. A lot of people are upset about this but the one person everyone expected to protest the loudest won't say a word. Noah starts to become Puck again. Rated M for language.
1. We're Engaged!

So I know that I haven't finished 'Just The Way You Are' and I promise that I'll continue updating that story regularly. But I started this story last week and I've become completely obsessed with it. I wrote 7 chapters today alone. So with the guarantee that I haven't abandoned my other story, I hope you enjoy this story. It's incredibly angsty but I couldn't just ignore the proposal.

I own nothing.

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><p>Rachel sat nervously in the front row of the choir room. Finn had insisted that they tell everyone that they were engaged during Glee practice today. She had refused to wear the ring until they had told everyone and he had obtained her father's approval. She shuffled her sheet music in an attempt to not lock eyes with any of her fellow glee clubbers as they arrived. Finn was so excited and he naively thought everyone else would be too. Rachel was quite sure that their news would have the opposite effect.<p>

Mr. Schuester walked in and asked if anyone had anything to share with the club today. Finn walked into the classroom with a grin on his face and said that he and Rachel did. She wondered briefly if he had been hiding behind the door waiting for the right moment to make his entrance. She pushed that thought aside as he grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet as they faced the club. She stared at the floor as Finn excitedly squeezed her hand. He looked at her expecting her to make the announcement and frowned slightly when he noticed her staring a hole into the floor. Shrugging it off he decided to take the lead.

"Rachel and I are engaged!" He yelled, barely containing his excitement. Rachel realised that she was holding her breath. Blowing it out slowly, she waited for the onslaught. She didn't have to wait long.

If Finn had been expecting congratulations he was very disappointed. The glee clubbers immediately started yelling over each other. Mr. Schue did his best to calm everyone down. Random obscenities were being thrown around and it took a few moments for Schue to get them all under control.

"I thought you'd all be excited for us." Finn said with a pout. Rachel realised belatedly that there were several people in this room that should have been told privately. People who would be incredibly hurt by hearing the news publicly. Rachel cringed when as if to prove her thoughts correct Santana finally made her feelings known.

"Were you expecting an elaborate song and dance of congratulations Finny boy? That we would all cheer happily and say we were happy for you? The only reason any of us put up with the pukefest that is Finchel is because we knew it had an expiry date! Why would we celebrate Rachel giving up her dreams to sire your troll children?" Santana snapped with an edge. "And you! Berry I thought us hanging out this year would make you less of a fucking idiot."

Finn opened and closed his mouth several times in shock as Rachel continued to stare at the floor, fighting tears at Santana's words. She heard Kurt clearing his throat and she chanced a look at him and Blaine. Both looked incredibly disappointed as they shook their heads sadly. She supposed that when Kurt called her family he hadn't meant he wanted her to literally be a part of his family. He had never minced words about the fact that he thought she was too good for Finn. She looked back down at the floor, wishing it would swallow her whole.

Finn muttered something angrily under his breath, setting off a new round of indignant responses from the group. Mercedes wondered out loud if Rachel had been lobotomized. Quinn sadly said 'So much for Broadway'. Kurt turned to Blaine and begged him to come to New York with him since his best friend had decided to give up on her life. Mike and Tina sat quietly confused. Rory and Sam both tried to congratulate them but their kindness lacked conviction. Mr. Schuester looked distraught. Brittany asked Santana what was going to happen to Puckleberry?

Rachel realised that the only person who hadn't said anything was the person whose reaction she'd worried most about. She glanced up to where Noah had been sitting and realised he was no longer in the room. He just left! How could he just leave? Why hadn't he said anything? He had never held back before. She couldn't believe that he had just left. When did he leave? The floor suddenly started spinning as she realised that once again she had stopped breathing. Overcompensating she took a huge breath and choked on it. She hoped that no one realised she was hyperventilating.

As Rachel did her best to control her breathing quietly the room continued to descend into chaos. Finn was still standing in shock at the lack of support from his friends. He looked to Kurt for a smile, anything to show that at least he supported them being engaged. What he saw instead was a full on glare. Recoiling from the force of the look that his brother was giving him, he glanced at Mr. Schuester instead. Schue at least gave him a smile even if it seemed a bit...off.

Rachel finally regulated her breathing and looked up at Mr. Schuester desperately. He was their teacher. She knew that the news was shocking but he had allowed outright chaos. She needed him to at the very least dismiss the class so that she could get the hell out of there. When his eyes connected with her very wet ones he seemed to understand. He cleared his throat and announced that given recent developments; maybe it would be best if they rescheduled their practice for the following afternoon.

At first no one moved. Then there was a mass exodus and Rachel stared at the ground again to avoid all of the various emotions in her friend's eyes. She didn't want to see the disappointment in Kurt and Blaine's, or the confusion in Mercedes'. She didn't want to see the pity on Quinn's face or the sadness on Brittany's. She couldn't even think about what Santana's face was showing. Santana had sounded so angry...and so incredibly hurt. The two of them had grown so close. That she had kept this from her and Noah was so incredibly horrible now that she thought about it. Feeling overwhelming regret and something along the lines of nausea she asked Finn to drive her home.

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><p>I hope you liked it. The angst starts the next chapter. Let me know what you think please. I'm a little obsessed with this story but I'm still not sure how I feel about actually posting it. This story is so much more personal than my other fic. Thanks!<p> 


	2. History

So I decided to add just one more chapter tonight since the story doesn't really start until this chapter. I won't be updating again until I get some reviews though. This story is pretty personal for me and I'm not sure at all about posting it. So let me know what you think please.

I own nothing.

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><p>"<em>Rachel and I are engaged!" <em>

Puck didn't know why they thought people would be excited. Scratch that. Rach-Berry knew how people would react. That's why she stood up there looking pathetic and weak as she stared at the floor. And St. Finn has always been a fuckin' idiot, so he shouldn't be surprised that he thought people would be excited. Not even Ra-Berry looked excited. But she's the one choosing to give up her dreams right? So she's clearly as god-damned stupid as Finnderella.

"_Rachel and I are engaged!" _

All hell had broken loose and he'd slipped out of the classroom unnoticed amidst all of the chaos. He tried not to smile at what Santana had said. He knew she had started to care about Rach-Berry. He found the grin slipping from his face. He needed to stop calling her Rachel. Rachel was his girlfriend. Rachel was the little girl he grew up with. Rachel was the girl he had been head over ass for since they dated. Berry is the girl who just singlehandedly threw away her future for fuckin' Finn 'Cheesus' Hudson of all people.

"_Rachel and I are engaged!" _

God he really wished Finn's excited voice announcing Berry's biggest mistake wasn't on repeat inside his fuckin' head. He felt the bile rising up in his throat and headed to the bathroom. After emptying the contents of his stomach he sat back against the cold wall until his head stopped spinning.

"_Rachel and I are engaged!" _

He thought back to the first time he met Rachel. He was 7 and his father had just left for the last time. Left a hell of a black eye on his Ma as he left too. His Ma dragged him to temple and it was the last place he wanted to be. If God was gonna give him such a crappy life than maybe God needed to stay the hell away from him. He glared through the entire service at the people who kept glancing at Ma's eye. After the service his Ma introduced herself to the new family. They introduced him to their daughter Rachel. He was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. She had big brown eyes and shiny hair.

"_Rachel and I are engaged!" _

Trying to ignore Finn's voice he remembered that the Berrys had invited his family over for lunch. After breaking bread together he found himself with Rachel sitting in the backyard under a tree. She sure talked a lot but she smiled like an angel. She held his hand that day and told him that they'd be great friends.

The Berrys and Puckermans spent a lot of time together after that day. Major holidays and birthdays all spent as a unit. He was there when Rachel went from a pretty child to an awkward teenager. She was there when he went through puberty and she never laughed when his voice cracked. The two of them were best friends until the second week of grade 8. Rachel had been in New York with her fathers for some theatre program and had missed the first week of school. He was excited about her coming back. He wanted her to meet all of his cool football friends. He was on his way to her locker when he saw her flirting with Dave Karofsky. He was so angry that he blacked out a little and the next thing he knew she was covered in his cherry slushy and everyone was laughing. She had stared at him in confusion before shrieking and stomping her foot. She had promptly burst into tears and ran out of the building. Karofsky had thanked him from saving him from dating such a freak and had told him he was cool. He found himself following Karofsky instead of Rachel. That was the day he stopped being Noah. The day that he lost his best friend Rachel. The day that he became Puck.

"_Rachel and I are engaged!" _

The two of them hadn't spoken for years. He slushied her daily and she pretended that she didn't care. Everything changed when he joined Glee. They became friends again and even dated briefly. Everything felt right again when she was around. He had missed her. He had missed being Noah.

"_Rachel and I are engaged!" _

It was there sitting on the cold, hard tile, with the smell of his vomit hitting his nostrils that he realised exactly what Finn's words meant. Finn had won. Puck had lost Rachel forever. As the reality of the situation hit him he found himself retching once more. Sitting back again, he tried to convince himself that the tears running down his face were from the abuse his body had just taken. His heart wasn't breaking. He was trying to convince himself of this fact when Santana quietly walked in and sat beside him. Apparently someone **had **noticed him leaving. She threaded her fingers through his and put her head on his shoulder wordlessly. Puck just squeezed her hand tightly and let the tears continue to fall.

He wasn't sure how long the two of them had been sitting there when she spoke.

"She looked up for you. She stood there the whole time refusing to look at anyone and she looked up to see your reaction." She said huskily, in a way that made him think that she'd been crying too.

"Doesn't matter what I think." He muttered thickly.

"So it doesn't bother you that she's throwing away her life? You're ok with the fact that she's about to become a housewife at 18? You accept that she's going to spend her life solely raising ogre children with Finn? It doesn't upset you that she's about to give up everything she's ever worked for to marry a guy who'll cheat on her a year in?" She questioned him angrily but was unable to bring herself to look at the pain her words were causing. She knew how he felt about Rachel and she knew he was totally destroyed.

"Sounds like you care enough for the both of us Lopez. Got a thing for Manhands do you?" He replied in a monotone.

Santana flinched when he used the cruel nickname that she had given Berry in grade 8. She had never once heard Puck call her that. She couldn't remember him ever calling her anything offensive. He threw slushies but everyone knew that was more about how much he liked her.

"She's going to need you when this blows up in her face Puckerman." She said, ignoring his last comments.

"She made her choice. I'm done." He said before dropping her hand and standing up.

"Don't do this Puck." She warned as she realised what his words meant.

"It's already done." He said angrily as he left the bathroom.

Santana stayed where she was. She didn't care that she was in a boy's bathroom and that it wasn't allowed. She tried to blink away the fat tears that were blurring her vision. She finds herself wondering when Berry became so damn important to her. Sometime between her defending her at sectionals sophomore year and singing 'I kissed a girl' with her proudly in the hallways Rachel had become one of her best friends.

Puck on the other hand had been her best friend since they were kids. Something about both having abusive parents bonded the two of them together. She knew all about Puckleberry's history. Hell, she had been around for most of it. Puck had always kept the two worlds separate but she knew that Rachel was his other best friend. It was part of the reason that she had hated Berry for so long. She didn't like to share, especially not Puck. She remembered the day that Puck had changed. The day that he and Berry stopped being friends he became a different person. So much like his father that even their own friendship had suffered. She had been so pissed about him joining Glee but she had liked that being around Berry made him Noah again. She angrily wiped away her tears as she realised she didn't know how to stop all of this. Things were going to get ugly and she didn't know how to fix it. Finn and Rachel being engaged was going to destroy Puck, or more specifically Noah, if it hadn't already. It was Noah that she had found sick and crying in the bathroom. It was Noah who had looked so broken that Santana hadn't been able to look at him. It was Puck that had walked out.

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><p>So that's it for now. Please review. Thanks!<p> 


	3. The Next Day

Here's the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

I own nothing.

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><p>Rachel decided to postpone the meeting with her fathers after the disastrous Glee club announcement. Finn had seemed upset but was quickly distracted by a song on the radio. He dropped her off with a quick kiss and an "I love you" and didn't seem to notice that she didn't smile or say it back.<p>

She walked up the driveway and grabbed the mail from the mailbox. She unlocked the front door and deposited her bag and belongings at the front door. She moved to the kitchen and dropped into a chair at the table. She looked through the letters and realised that she had received a letter from NYADA. She thought about how hard she had fought to have an impressive application. She found herself unable to open it as she remembered some of the things that her classmates has said.

"_So much for Broadway." _Quinn had said sadly. Kurt had begged Blaine to come with him a year early since she had decided not to come with him.

Is that what she had done? She hadn't really thought about what marrying Finn might mean for her future. She loved him and he loved her. Marriage made sense under these circumstances. But he didn't want to go to New York. By agreeing to marry him had she just resigned herself to a life in Lima? That hadn't been her intention, although she had clearly disappointed the glee clubbers.

Santana's words had stung in particular. The two had become quite close since she had come back from the Troubletones. Santana had invited her to go shopping and had surprisingly not made fun of Rachel's sense of style even once. They had talked and confided in each other and realised just how much they were alike. The two of them had become almost inseparable since. They ate lunch together and hung out with Noah during their shared English class every day. Santana had sounded so hurt. Rachel couldn't decide if it was because Rachel hadn't told her before everyone else. Or because she truly felt that Rachel was giving up on her dreams. Probably a little bit of both. The fact that Santana had decided on going to New York and was going to be rooming with Kurt and Rachel probably only made matter worse.

Rachel left the unopened letter on the table and trudged upstairs to her bedroom. As she closed the door, the tears started. When he fathers came home three hours later, they found her upstairs having cried herself to sleep.

When Rachel woke up the next morning she glared over at her treadmill and rolled over and went back to sleep. Her fathers came up an hour later worried that she must be sick since she had skipped her whole morning routine. She told them that she had just needed the extra sleep and got out of bed. She texted Finn and told him that she would drive herself that morning. She really didn't know how to talk to him right now. He was so excited and she just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry some more. She trudged out to her car and realised that she wasn't even sure what she was wearing or if she had done her hair. She checked her visor mirror and decided she looked fine. As she drove to school her mind wandered to Noah. He had left sometime during the announcement yesterday. She wasn't sure if that meant that he was upset and disapproved. She decided that she would seek him out today and ask him what he thought.

She pulled up to the school feeling relieved that none of the other students knew yet. She didn't think she could take their judgement or laughter. She had always been so adamant about pursuing her dreams. What would they think of her getting married at 17 when her own friends so heavily disapproved of her decision? She walks towards her locker and sees that Finn is leaning against it waiting for her. Before he sees her she ducks into the bathroom and stays there until the bell rings. She ducks her head out and sees that he's already gone. She rushes to her locker and grabs her books before running to her English class, making it just in time.

Rachel moves to her regular seat and realises that while Santana is on her left, Noah isn't sitting on her right. She glances around the class in confusion and looks over at Santana. Santana studies her for a moment before shrugging with a sigh. Rachel doesn't understand why he wouldn't be here. He's really made an effort to be a better student this year. Having Beth around has been a very good thing for him. His grades are in the top 10% percentile of the school. He shows up to all of his classes and he rarely parties. Rachel has been so proud of him for his vast improvement. Rachel is jarred out of her thought process when the bell rings. She looks around in confusion. She didn't just waste an entire class did she? She glances at Santana in a panic. Santana sighs again and hands her the notes she took during class before leaving a bewildered Rachel behind. Rachel composes herself and leaves the classroom, realising on her way back to her locker that Noah never came to class. Worried that he might be sick she texts him.

**Rachel: Noah, I noticed that you were not in class today. I hope that you aren't sick. It's so rare for you to miss class. Anyways, text me back or I'll see you at lunch?**

Only Noah didn't text her back. And he didn't show up to their normal table at lunch. When she asked Santana is she had seen him at all today she had just shrugged and continued to eat her sandwich. Rachel studied her friend and realised that something was wrong.

"Santana, what's going..." She was cut off by Finn who had thrown himself into the seat beside her and kissed her with an enthusiasm not appropriate for public.

She pulled back, slightly embarrassed by the amount of PDA and looked at Santana. Santana looked nauseated and dropped her sandwich on the table. She muttered something about not being hungry and left the table and the lunchroom quickly.

"She still pissed about us getting married?" He asked darkly.

"I don't know. We haven't really talked today. She sat with me so I'm sure she's accepted it." Rachel said attempting a show smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Have you seen Puck today? He wasn't in Spanish this morning." Rachel shook her head and checked her phone.

The two of them finished lunch as Rachel pretended to listen to Finn talking about his COD marathon the night before. She noticed when he mentioned that Noah hadn't played with them though.

Rachel had a hard time paying attention in her afternoon classes as Noah again failed to show up to the two classes that they shared. She found herself checking her phone every few minutes.

Rachel arrived late for Glee practice that afternoon. She was usually the first to arrive, but she was nervous after the way things had gone the day before. She walked in and apologized to Mr. Schuester quietly and found herself grateful to see that the only open seats were far away from Finn. She took note of the fact that Noah wasn't at Glee either. She took her seat next to Quinn and Artie and tried to focus on the assignment of the week. She found herself blushing and thanking God that Finn wasn't the smartest boy in the room as Mr. Schuester wrote 'Mistakes' on the white board. He turned to them and tried not to look at the two of them as he explained the assignment.

"Our group is typically not good at communicating our feelings. It's clear that people have things they'd like to say and you now have your outlet to do it. I want everyone to prepare a song for the week. It can be about mistakes that you've made or mistakes your friends are making." He smiled as he left the room.

"Where's Puck?" Brittany asked Santana.

Rachel looked over just in time to see Santana looking at her sadly before turning to Brittany and saying she didn't know.

Rachel decided that she needed to stop by his house to make sure he's alright. Maybe she can make him some homemade soup. She told Finn that she wasn't feeling well and thought that maybe they should tell her fathers over the weekend. She realised that Santana was watching her sadly again while she told the lie. Confused about her behaviour she decided to talk to Noah first and then stop by Santana's house. She walked out to her car and drove to Noah's hoping that he was alright, refusing to believe that his failure to come to school today had anything to do with the engagement.

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><p>There it is. Let me know what you think. Thanks!<p> 


	4. The Hangover

Here it is. I hope you enjoy it.

I own nothing.

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><p>Puck woke up to the sound of someone knocking on his window. He opened his eyes and immediately shut them because he regretted it. He really should not have had so much to drink last night. He growled as someone who clearly wanted an ass-kicking continued to knock on his window. He pulled himself into a sitting position and opened his eyes again. Turning to face the window he saw an elderly man looking relieved. Rolling down the window he just stared at the man.<p>

"Sorry Son, I just wanted to make you were alright. You've been lying out here all day. And it's still winter. My wife was worried you might be dead." He said earnestly.

"Well 'm not." Puck growled.

The older man just looked at him for a moment before turning around and walking away.

Where the hell was he? He grabbed his sunglasses and looked around. His truck was sitting outside a grocery store. And right next to it was a bar. And like that it all came back to him.

"_Rachel and I are engaged!" _

As he had walked away from Santana he decided he really needed a fuckin' drink. He had walked out to his car and dug his fake ID out of his glove compartment where it had been sitting unused for over a year. Sitting in his truck he decided that he was too well-known around Lima to get away with it anymore. Nothing gets you recognized everywhere you go like being sent to juvie. He had started his truck and drove for over an hour to a neighbouring town and parked at the first dive bar he saw. Strutting into the building, he had taken a seat at the bar. The bartender had seen the 'Don't fuck with me' expression on his face and hadn't bothered asking for his ID. Four hours later he stumbled out of the bar and had decided to sleep it off in his truck. He had texted his mom and told her that he was at Mike's for the night.

He took a look at his cell phone and realised he had a ton of text messages. He also noticed that it was 4 Fucking PM. He checked his inbox and found 5 new messages.

**Rachel: Noah, I noticed that you were not in class today. I hope that you aren't sick. It's so rare for you to miss class. Anyways, text me back or I'll see you at lunch?**

He decided that throwing his phone out the window would be stupid, so he settled for deleting her message and reading the next one instead.

**Santana: I stopped by your house and your mom said you were at Mike's. We both know you're out getting shitfaced somewhere. Be careful Puck.**

He rolled his eyes before opening the next message.

**Quinn: Please don't do something stupid Puck. I know you're upset but think of Beth please.**

He felt the guilt starting to creep up on him, so he deleted that message as well.

**Rachel: Noah, Where are you? I stopped by your house and your mom thought you were staying with Mike. But Mike says he doesn't know where you are. Please call me back.**

He deleted that one too.

**Mike: Dude I'm so sorry. Your mom called looking for you and my mom answered. I didn't know what she was talking about. Your mom is really pissed dude. Call me!**

Fuckin' Chang. He pulled out of the parking lot and started the long drive home. He was in such deep shit when his mom got a hold of him. He found his thoughts drifting to Berry so he turned on his radio and blasted death metal the whole way back to Lima.

He got home and sat in his truck for a moment. Once he was ready for the fight he got out of his truck and walked up the path to his house. He opened the front door and had barely closed it behind him before his mom was out of her chair and screaming at him.

"Where have you been? I've been so worried!" She began and he knew she was just gaining speed.

"Sorry Ma." He muttered as he tried to get past her to his room. Why did his room have to be on the second floor?

"That's not good enough Noah! You promised me that you would stop behaving like this when you got home from juvie!" She stepped closer to him and apparently he smelled pretty bad because her eyes practically popped out of her head. "Noah Elijah Puckerman! You've been drinking! You know that violates your probation. How could you be so stupid boy!"

"Just leave me alone." He said wearily, staring at the floor.

"I will do no such thing! What could possibly have caused you to be so reckless? Do you have any idea how much trouble you could have been in? I am so angry with you my son. You had better tell me right this instant why you have done this." She yelled shrilly.

"Rachel is getting married." His head whipped up to look at his 9 year old sister who had appeared behind his mother.

"What? What nonsense are you speaking of Sara?" His mother asked turning on his sister.

"Jenny Pierce told me this morning at school. Brittany's little sister. She told me that Brittany was crying about it last night." She answered quietly as she watched her brother silently retreat towards the stairs.

"Noah! It's not true is it? Noah? Noah!" his mother tearfully grabbed his arm as he reached the stairs. Ripping his arm out of her grasp he turned to face her full on.

"Don't call me that." He glared at her.

"But Noah..."

"I said don't call me that. It's Puck!" He continued to glare at her for a moment before he turned and stomped up the stairs.

Hannah and Sara Puckerman both flinched as they heard his door slam. Sara ran into her mom's arms and the two of them cried.

"Mommy, is he going to be ok?" Sara asked her mom hopefully.

Hannah Puckerman had always believed that it was wrong to lie to her children. So instead of answering Sara, she said nothing at all.

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><p>Let me know what you think. Thanks!<p> 


	5. The Conversation

I felt like uploading another chapter tonight. Here it is.

I own nothing

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><p>Rachel woke up in a very bad mood. She had only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before. She'd spent the night tossing and turning in worry for Noah. He had never texted her back and his mother had seemed so upset when she stopped by looking for him. Trying not to feel guilty about how much trouble he was undoubtedly in because of her, she thought back to her visit to the Puckerman residence the day before.<p>

_She had pulled up to the curb in front of the Puckerman house and had practically sprinted to the front door. If she hadn't been in such a hurry she would have realised that Noah's truck wasn't sitting in the driveway. She knocked on the door and stepped back waiting for someone to answer. Hannah Puckerman opened the door and smiled widely when she saw Rachel standing on the front porch._

"_Rachel dear, what a lovely surprise. What are you doing here?" She had asked as she pulled Rachel into a tight hug._

"_I was driving home from school and I decided to come and check in on Noah. I assumed that since he was not at school today he must be feeling very sick," she rambled, not seeing the surprise and anger in Hannah Puckerman's eyes. "It's very rare for him to miss school these days and I was therefore very concerned for him. Is he well enough to accept visitors?"_

"_Rachel what on earth are you talking about? Noah texted me last night saying that he was staying over at Mike's house and that he would come home after school today." _

"_Oh! Well perhaps I just didn't see him today." Rachel backtracked realising that Noah's mother looked very angry._

"_Rachel Berry. Was my son not at school today?" Hannah demanded as she watched Rachel nervously looking anywhere but at her._

"_Well, you see, it's erm possible that he was there and um..." Rachel began awkwardly trying to fix her mistake._

"_Do not lie to me Rachel!"_

"_I'm sorry Mrs. Puckerman. I didn't see him today. So if you could let him know that I stopped by that would be great!" Rachel said as she ran back down the sidewalk thinking that Noah was so dead when he got home. He was going to be so mad at her._

Rachel found herself skipping her morning routine for the second day in a row. Instead she stood in her shower under the hot spray until the water turned cold. She made the effort to look nice today to make up for her lack of effort the day before. She had just finished curling her hair when she received a text message. Hoping that it was Noah finally texting her back she threw herself across the room to grab her phone. With a disappointment that she was instantly ashamed of she read a text from Finn.

**Finn: Hey Rach. So I'm going to be out of town for the next week and a half. Kurt told Burt and my mom that we were engaged and they decided that we needed a time out. They're making me come along on some of Burt's political events. At least they're making Kurt come along to, what a jerk. Anyways I'll see you in a couple weeks. Love you!**

Rachel did her best not to acknowledge the part of her that felt a huge amount of relief that her boyfriend, ahem _Fiancé _would be away for a couple weeks. She also ignored the fact that she walked out to her car with something akin to a skip in her step. As she drove to McKinley she decided to wait for Noah at his locker and apologize for getting him in trouble. After demanding that he explain where he had been since the 'announcement' first of course. She walked to her locker and retrieved her books for her first class. With a great determination she marched through the halls towards Noah's locker. With some relief she realised that he was already there. She started talking as he dug through his locker looking for something.

"Noah, I'm very sorry if I caused you to be in trouble with your mother. I was merely worried about your health as you missed a whole day of classes yesterday and you never texted me back. I hope that your mother wasn't too upset with you. I've been wanting to talk to you about what Finn and I..." she trailed off as he closed his locker and walked away without even acknowledging her.

Rachel stood in shock for a moment at how rude he had just been. He hadn't been so impolite since the days when he threw slushies in her face daily. She decided that the confrontation with his mother must have gone badly and he was just angry with her. She resolved to talk to him during their first period English class. She headed to the class early and sat down in her usual seat and waited for Santana and Noah to come in and sit next to her.

Santana walked in a few minutes later and just nodded in her direction as she sat down before focusing her attention up front. Rachel realised that she had never asked Santana what was wrong because she had been so concerned about Noah. The rest of the class filed in as the final bell rang. The teacher was talking about the process of converting books into screenplays when Noah sauntered into the room. He walked to the back of the class without excusing himself as the teacher glared in his direction.

"Move it loser." Rachel watched in horror as Noah kicked a boy with glasses out of his seat and sent him to the only open seat next to her. Noah's seat. He leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on his desk and turned to flirt with the Cheerio next to him. Rachel turned back to face the teacher who had continued talking as if she had never been interrupted. Rachel looked over at Santana who looked like she might be sick. Rachel spent the rest of the class trying to tune out the disgusting conversation Noah was having with the girl behind her. As the bell rang she decided that maybe she would talk to him at lunch instead. Rachel spent the next two classes anxiously waiting for the lunch bell to ring. She rushed to her locker to grab her lunch and headed to the cafeteria. Sitting down at her regular table she began to eat her lunch. Blaine joined her and made a half-hearted joke about the two of them being single for the next week and a half. She faked a laugh as she looked around the cafeteria for Noah. At some point Mercedes and Brittany had joined their table but she hadn't noticed. Realising that he wasn't going to be coming to lunch she got up and walked out of the cafeteria without a word to her friends. If she had been paying attention she would have noticed how worried her friends were.

Rachel walked over to his locker nervously this time. She couldn't imagine him ignoring her again. Noah was always so kind to her and he'd never do anything to hurt her feelings, even if he was angry with her. As she neared his locker she noticed that he was flirting with the Cheerio from class earlier. She had bright red hair and very large breasts Rachel noticed as she stopped behind Noah. What was her name again? Lisa? Linda? She cleared her throat and frowned when only Lisa glanced in her direction. She tapped him on the shoulder and held her breath as he turned around to face her. She was struck by the neutral expression on his face. He usually smiled or at the very least smirked when he saw her. She realised that she had just been staring at him when he rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak.

"What do you want? I'm a little busy here." He said coldly. She was once again struck by the way he was acting.

"I was just wondering if we could talk. It won't talk very long." She said in a small uncertain voice.

He turned back to Lydia and told her he'd meet her there. She smiled and skipped away happily. Turning back to her he just stared at her before quickly losing his patience again.

"I don't have all day Streisand." She flinched at the nickname because he clearly hadn't meant it as a compliment.

"I just wanted to make sure that we're ok..." she started only to be cut off.

"Listen I'm sure that you have some stupid monologue worked out but there's a really hot girl waiting for me in the janitor's closet who just begged me to fuck her brains out. So unless what you have to say is better than that then I'm not interested." He watched her for a moment before walking away from her muttering. "Yeah that's what I thought."

She stood there with wide eyes and an open mouth long enough to gain unwanted attention. She was brought out of her stupor when Sam pulled her by the arm away from some laughing football players and into the choir room where she promptly burst into tears. Sam looked for a moment as if he wanted to run away but pulled her into his arms instead and rubbed her back as her tears stained his new Avatar t-shirt.

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><p>People have been asking for their first interractions and here it is. Let me know what you think.<p> 


	6. We will fix this!

Hey, here's the next chapter. I had some people ask me why Puck would let something like this ruin his dreams. I guess I don't really see it that way. He's just acting like the guy he would have become without Rachel. In this story she's sort of been his saving grace since the day after his dad left. Losing her would mean losing himself. Not because she's 'the love of his life' (not to say that she isn't) but more because she has been so instrumental in him becoming Noah. He's heartbroken and he's dealing in extremes. If I dragged it out for awhile I think you'd see Beth thawing him out a bit, but it's only been three days. Puck isn't forever, it's for now.

Hope that helps.

I own nothing.

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><p>Santana had watched him walk away from Rachel like she wasn't there and her hopes hadn't been high for class. But Puck had passed even her expectations with his douchbaggery during class. She had expected him to act more like Puck and less like Noah but the guy who walked in late and picked on the kid at the back was 100% Puck. The guy who sat behind Rachel talking dirty with that Leslie slut just loud enough for Rachel to hear? Yeah that was 100% Puck too. Santana was already feeling nauseated before Rachel turned to her looking totally devastated. She found herself incredibly thankful that she had skipped breakfast or Jewfro's hair would have been an even more disgusting colour. Not that the little prick wouldn't deserve getting puked on. Santana left school the moment that English was over.<p>

She practically sprinted out to her little blue BMW. She didn't waste any time tearing out of the parking lot either. She knew that Rachel wouldn't give up and would end up in tears before lunchtime but she was having a hard time breathing. Her friends were in the middle of destroying each other and Rachel didn't even realise that it was happening yet. Santana pulled her car over at a McDonalds and burst into tears. She heard her phone beep and she saw a message from Kurt.

**Kurt: My parents are kidnapping Finn and I for two weeks because I told them that Finn proposed. The only reason I'm allowing this is so that you can talk some sense into Rachel. Take care of her Lopez. **

Santana found herself crying even harder after she read the message. She was failing already. Deciding she would need help she texted Quinn. She turned on the radio and tried to calm down as she waited for Q.

Quinn was sitting in Spanish when she got the text from Santana.

**Santana: Q, I need you. I'm at McDonalds.**

Quinn found herself panicking at the lack of offensive language in the text from San. She hurriedly made an excuse to Mr. Schue and headed out to her car. She did her best not to speed on the way there. She parked her car next to San's and got out of her car. She quickly opened the door and sat in her friend's car. Looking over at Santana she was shocked to see that she had been crying.

"San what the hell is going on?" She immediately regretted her tone because Santana just burst into tears again and it took fifteen minutes to be able to understand what she was so upset about.

Quinn sat in shock as she listened to her friend explain the situation in between sobs. She hadn't realised quite how close Rachel and Santana had become and she was proud to see that she cared so much about her. She did however agree with her concern about the situation and found herself crying too by the time San described class that morning.

"I don't know what to do Q! He was so horrible this morning and I'd bet anything that he was even worse when she undoubtedly found him during lunch." Santana wailed.

"We're going to fix this." Quinn said as 'Trouty mouth' filled the car.

Santana answered her phone and listened to what sounded like Sam panicking on the other side of the phone. Santana said they'd be right there and hung up.

"We have to get back to McKinley now!" Santana said as she started the car. Quinn buckled up and decided they'd come back for her car later.

Santana apparently didn't pay heed to speed restrictions the way that Quinn did and they were back at the school in minutes. Quinn followed Santana as she hurried into the school in the direction of the choir room. She heard Santana curse in Spanish under her breath as she entered the room. Sam was sitting in the front row with Rachel curled up in his lap sobbing. His eyes were wide and desperate as Quinn and Santana rushed over. Quinn pulled her over into her own chair and held her tight as Santana pulled Sam out of the room.

"What the fuck happened?" She snapped.

Sam pulled her into an empty classroom so they wouldn't get caught ditching class.

"It was horrible San. I was about to kick Puck's ass when I realised that people were laughing at her."

"What did he do?" She said with an anger that seemed to stun Evans.

"I was standing by my locker when I saw her walk by. She didn't even notice me say hey. She walked up to him and she looked really nervous. He was flirting with that really slutty cheerleader Leanne. She tried to get his attention and he ignored her. She tapped him on the shoulder and he sent the cheerleader away. I figured maybe they'd be fine but then he started making fun of her and when she tried to talk he interrupted her and.." he trailed off uncertainly.

"And what Evans?"

"He said that Leah was waiting for him in the supply closet for him to 'fuck her brains out' and he doubted what Rachel had to say was more important than that. And then he just left her standing there. She just stood there in shock. So I pulled her into the choir room and she's been crying for," He checked his watch and raised his eyebrows. "An hour and 15 minutes. What the hell is Puck doing San?"

She just shook her head and jumped slightly as the bell rang.

"I have a test this period San, are you ok to stay with her?" She nodded when she heard the concern in his voice. Surprising herself and Sam she threw herself at him for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head before pulling back and walking out of the room.

Santana hurried back to the choir room to find Rachel half-asleep in Quinn's arms. Santana walked over and sat next to them and ran her fingers through Rachel's hair until she was completely asleep. Looking over at Q she quietly explained what had happened. She watched as Q wiped at her tears furiously and repeated her promise from earlier.

"We WILL fix this." She said with determination.

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><p>Let me know what you think! Thanks.<p> 


	7. Playing a hunch

Here it is. Sorry that I didn't update yesterday. I didn't get a chance to find my laptop. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it.

I own nothing.

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><p>The final bell rang and Sam Evans had left his desk and was out the door before the other students had even left their seats. He wasn't sure he'd done well on his test because he was so worried about Rachel. By last period his worry for Rachel had turned into anger towards Puck and by the time the bell rang his body was tense with fury. Apparently he wasn't hiding his anger very well because the students in the hallway were giving him a wide berth as he headed over to Puck's locker.<p>

"Puck!" He yelled as he approached the boy at his locker.

Puck turned around to face him just in time to be shoved backwards into the bank of lockers. Puck immediately threw himself forwards only to be shoved back into the lockers roughly.

"What the fuck was that for Evans?" Puck yelled as he glared at the gathering crowd with enough force that they kept walking as if the two friends weren't about to come to blows.

"What the hell if your problem asshole?" Sam yelled as he shoved Puck again.

"I don't know what you're talking about Samantha but I'm about 5 seconds away from breaking your stupid face."

"I saw the way you treated Rachel today Puck. She's one of your best friends. So I'll ask you again. What the hell is your problem?" Sam growled as Puck rolled his eyes.

"Manhands isn't one of my best friends dumbass and neither are you. So if you've finished menstruating, I have a date with a cougar." Puck replied coldy.

"I'm not finished you prick. Rachel spent the last three periods crying in the fucking choir room," Sam paused as he saw the briefest flash of pain shoot through Puck's eyes. "Still don't care?"

"I don't give a shit about Berry and your little pack of freaks." Puck answered venomously and Sam wondered if he had imagined the pain in his eyes because Puck's face was cold again. "Do us all a favour and forget about me because I plan on forgetting about my little trip down loser lane."

Sam grabbed Puck's arm as started walking away as he realised something crucial. Something that he felt like total crap for not having seen earlier.

"You're in love with her." He breathed out in surprise. He was even more surprised when Puck swung around and punched him in the face. Staring up at his friend from the floor through a rapidly swelling eye he took in the raw fury in Puck's eyes.

"I don't do love Evans. Especially not with a stuck up, stupid little bitch like Berry." He snarled before turning around and storming out of the school.

Sam stared after Puck and suddenly understood why Santana had seemed so defeated when he had talked to her earlier. She knew how Puck felt about Rachel and how the engagement would affect him. Puck had already mellowed out by the time that Sam came to McKinley, but the stories of his past were legendary. He had finally come face to face with the guy who tormented the glee club before becoming their defender.

"Shit." He puffed out.

"Sam? Sam! Ohmygod! Are you alright?" His face was being tilted up and through his one good eye he could see Quinn's anxious face close to his own.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me," He said as she pulled him to his feet. "How's Rachel?"

"San took her home during last period. I think she plans on staying with her tonight. Sam what happened to your eye? Who did this to you?" her eyes flashed as Mercedes walked by. "Did Shane do this to you? I knew that Mercedes was going to hurt you with this sick little game for her attention!"

Sam just watched her as concern clouded her features and he smiled.

"Nah, I told her yesterday that I wasn't interested in chasing a girl who wasn't interested anymore. She was pretty pissed about it which only made me feel better about my decision."

"Well that's good I guess. But if Shane didn't hit you then who..." he watched as her eyes glazed for a moment before she mouthed the word 'Puck'.

"Yeah well I was pretty pissed about what he did to Rachel earlier and one thing led to another..." he trailed off.

"What happened?"

"I may or may not have played a hunch and gotten punched for it," he said with a wince. "I accused him of being in love with her. He punched me in the face, denied it and then walked away."

"So San was right." She said thoughtfully.

He let her process whatever it was she was thinking about. After a moment of silence she turned to him and insisted on taking him to the nurse. When he refused she turned to him with a smirk.

"Fine, but your eye is swelling more than your lips."

"You have been spending WAY too much time with Santana!" He replied laughing as he allowed her to pull him towards the nurse's office.

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><p>I hope you liked it. This is my favourite chapter that I've posted so far. Review please.<p> 


	8. Fall for Anything

I feel bad about not updating yesterday, so here's the next chapter as well.

I own nothing.

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><p>Rachel found herself just dragging through life the next few days. Santana had taken her home and cuddled on her bed until the next morning. She was so miserable over how angry Noah was. She couldn't believe that he was this upset over her accidently ratting him out to his mother. When she told Santana this she had just studied her for a moment with her lips in a thin line before shrugging and heading into Rachel's closet to find something to wear to school. Deciding to leave him alone for now Rachel did her best to stay out of his way for the remainder of the week. She ignored him in their shared class and ate lunch in the choir room with Santana and Quinn. She decided that she would let him come to her once he had gotten over this.<p>

Only he didn't come to her. He didn't show up over the weekend and he continued to ignore her on Monday. She had pretended not to see that Noah was acting more like the guy he was before he joined Glee. She did her best to ignore Sam's black eye and the rumours about how he had gotten it. She also did her best not to notice that he was constantly appearing out of supply closets with different Cheerios. She wasn't sure why the sight of him with his cheerleader of the day caused something to burn unpleasantly in her chest.

She hadn't mentioned his name since the morning after the 'incident' and Santana and Quinn followed her lead. Although she noticed that they often shared knowing looks whenever he walked by.

Rachel walked into glee a few moments late on Monday with Santana and sat down next to Blaine and Quinn. She had noticed in her cursory glance as she walked in that Noah wasn't here again. She did her very best to put on a show smile to hide how much that bothered her.

"Alright guys. It's been almost a week since I set your glee assignment and I'd like to hear what you have so far." Mr. Schuester announced as he glanced around the room.

Rachel found herself panicking. She hadn't even thought about the glee assignment. He had assigned it during a moment of great duress and everything with Noah had kept her too distracted since.

"I have something Mr. Schue." Blaine said as he grabbed Rachel's hand and squeezed it. He shot her something like an apologetic look before standing up and taking his place.

It only took a moment to remember what the assignment had been. Considering Blaine's choice of song and the appreciative look on Mr. Schue's face his intentions with the assignment were clear too.

**Girl that brings you down, down, down**

He looked right at Rachel as he sang the first line. She stared back refusing to react.

**Don't give yourself away**  
><strong>Don't live your life that way<strong>  
><strong>Of course he's gonna say anything you want<strong>  
><strong>Then leave quicker than he came<strong>  
><strong>Now you've got yourself to blame<strong>  
><strong>Don't put yourself back in the fire again<strong>

Blaine was standing in the middle of the room singing earnestly.

**It's the same damn things you're so quick to believe**  
><strong>You do it over and over again<strong>  
><strong>And it's the same mistakes that I'm watching you weave<strong>  
><strong>You do it over and over again<strong>  
><strong>So before they bring you down<strong>

**You gotta stand for something or you'll fall for anything**  
><strong>You gotta stand for something or you'll fall for anything<strong>

**Girl that brings you down, down, down**

Rachel listened to the words and knew what he was saying. She knew that everyone thought she was making a mistake by accepting Finn's proposal.

**Please don't be so naïve, don't wait 'til your heart bleeds  
>Love wasn't built for speed, listen to me girl<br>He keeps fuckin' with your head, tryin' to get you into bed  
>And in the morning you'll just hate yourself<strong>

Rachel didn't like the implication that Finn would hurt her, but history showed that he wasn't to be trusted with her heart.

**It's the same damn things you're so quick to believe**  
><strong>You do it over and over again<strong>  
><strong>And it's the same mistakes that I'm watching you make<strong>  
><strong>You do it over and over again and over again<strong>  
><strong>So before they bring you down<strong>

She watched Blaine as he sang with such a passion. She knew he cared about her. She also knew that he was singing on behalf of Kurt. She was touched by the fact that her friends cared so much

**You gotta stand for something or you'll fall for anything  
>You gotta stand for something or you'll fall for anything<strong>

**Girl that brings you down, down, down**

Rachel found her eyes getting misty when the rest of the club joined in for the end of the song. She couldn't believe that everyone felt the same way.

_**[3x]**_**  
>And you give until there's nothing to give<br>Until there's nothing to give,  
>until there's nothing to give...<strong>

**Before they break you down**

**You gotta stand for something or you'll fall for anything**  
><strong>You gotta stand for something or you'll fall for anything<strong>  
><strong>You gotta stand for something or you'll fall for anything<strong>  
><strong>You gotta stand for something or you'll fall for anything<strong>

**Before they bring you down, down, down**  
><strong>Girl they'll bring you down, down, down<strong>

Blaine returned to his seat with some hesitation before pulling her to her feet for a hug. As Rachel hugged him back she realised that she hadn't defended her relationship after the song. She found the guilt twisting in her stomach as she also realised she hadn't thought of Finn since he texted her informing her that he'd been gone for awhile.

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><p>The song that Blaine sang was Fall for anything by The Script.<p>

I hope you liked it. This chapter is a little lighter than the next few. Let me know what you think.


	9. A Lima Loser

So here's the next chapter. This one is one of the hardest to read I think. I cried as I wrote it so I hope you enjoy it.

I own nothing.

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><p>"Santana and Quinn I understand your concern, but I absolutely refuse to allow Noah to throw away our friendship over something so silly," she noticed the two of them glance at each other again briefly. "I didn't mean to get him in trouble with his mother. If he'll just listen to my apology I'm sure everything will be fine!"<p>

Rachel left the choir room where the two girls had taken her after she had announced her intentions to talk to Noah. But Rachel refused to listen to their pleas to leave him alone. It was now Wednesday and Noah still wasn't talking to her. Noah was a creature of habit and he always headed to 711 for a slushy and dip before basketball practice. She rounded the corner and watched him place his purchases on the top shelf in his locker. She approached him as he dug through his locker looking for his practice clothes. She looked around and made sure that the halls were empty before she stepped up to him. He looked up as he heard her steps and rolled his eyes before turning back to finding his basketball shorts.

"I feel that I've been patient over the last week and I have allowed you to ignore me because I believed that you needed space. But I feel that you're being a little childish Noah..."

"Don't call me that." He snapped cutting her off.

"Don't call you what Noah? I don't understand why you're so angry with me. I didn't mean to tell your mother that you skipped school last week. Noah! Look at me Noah!" She stamped her foot.

"Don't call me that. The name's Puck." He said as he continued digging through his locker.

"I refuse to call you that. I thought we were friends Noah."

"The name is Puck. And we're not friends." He snapped as he finally turned to look at her coldly.

"How can you possibly be so angry with me?" She whispered as he ignored her and went back to looking in his locker.

"Noah!"

"It's Puck! Stop calling me Noah," He yelled as he glared at her. "My name is Puck!"

She narrowed her eyes and stepped closer to him.

"And if I dont?" she responded as his glare intensified.

"I'll start slushying you again. I will slushy you every single day. Every. Fuckin'. Day Manhands." He threatened.

"I don't believe you. You're one of my best friends Noah."

She watched as he turned back to his locker and by the time she realised what he was doing it was too late. She gasped as the ice dripped from her face and down her shirt. She heard him slam his locker door and walk away as she stood in horror at what he had done. Her eyes started to tear up against the sting of the sugary corn syrup. She rubbed her face on the sleeve of her probably ruined sweater. Her tongue darted out to taste a mixture of salty tears and grape slushy. The knowledge that he had thrown a grape slushy of all flavours on her head had her collapsing on the floor in a fit of sobs. She felt herself being lifted into a pair of strong arms. For a moment she convinced herself that Noah had felt remorse and had come back for her. As she cried against his strong chest she inhaled a scent that didn't belong to Noah at all! Opening her eyes she looked up at Sam's face and found herself crying even harder. Santana and Quinn came running around the corner and dropped to their knees beside the two of them. Sam handed her off to the girls and went tearing after Puck.

She realised exactly what Sam was planning on doing and remembering the black eye that had only just started to heal, she began to worry.

"Santana please don't let Sam hurt him." She said through her tears.

Santana looked at her for a moment as if she was going to refuse. Sighing she dropped a kiss to Rachel's wet cheek and went running after the boys.

Santana ran towards the yelling outside of the locker rooms. She rounded the corner to see the two boys facing off with clenched fists.

"You're a total fucking tool Puck. I can't believe that you of all people would slushy Rachel. I would love to take a baseball bat to your freakin' skull you asshole!" Sam yelled furiously.

"Mind your own business dork. Don't let Finnessa hear you defending his girl. He might think you have a thing for the pathetic little hobbit." Puck sneered back.

Santana stepped in when Sam went to throw himself at Puck with his fist raised. She put a hand on his heaving chest and stared at him until he met her eyes.

"She asked me to stop you. Please don't make me break that promise." She pleaded.

"Walk away little Sammy." Puck mocked him behind Santana.

Sam looked at Santana before turning around and starting to walk away. He stopped at the sound of Puck's laughter and threw one last comment at Puck.

"You're not worth my time Puck. Or hers. You're acting like a Lima Loser," He began as Puck snarled from where Santana was holding him. "You're a total fucking coward."

Sam walked back to where Quinn was sitting with Rachel, leaving Santana and Puck alone. Puck was straining to get away from Santana to attack Sam.

"Enough!" Santana screeched as Puck stopped moving. Once she believed that he wouldn't go after Evans she stepped back and studied him.

"What the hell are you looking at Satan" He bit out.

"I've never thought you were a Lima Loser. But breaking Rachel's heart instead of admitting how you feel? Sam's right. You are a fucking coward." Santana turned to walk away and tossed one more remark over her shoulder. "And if you EVER make her cry again I promise I WILL take a baseball bat to your jewels and then your head, Ojete."

Santana walked away and wiped away a tear as she realised that she had just declared her allegiance in this fucked up little game that Puck had begun.

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><p>There it is. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm in the middle of watching Glee and I'm a huge fan of what Quinn said to Rachel. Part of me wants to leave it there and imagine that Rachel actually listens.<p>

Please review!


	10. Burning Alive

How depressing was last night's ep? Loved Quinn though and was surpringly attracted to Sebastian...

Here's the next chapter, it's a little lighter than the last one.

I own nothing.

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><p>Quinn had been surprised when Rachel had stopped crying as she washed the slushy out of her hair. She had been expecting another epic bout of tears reminiscent of last week's clash with Puck. Rachel calmly leaned back against the sink only occasionally sniffling as Quinn ran warm water through her hair. She heard her breathe a sigh of relief when Sam had come back without injury. Quinn shared the relief that Rachel felt but for an entirely different reason. She had been so upset when Puck had punched Sam last week. Sam's eye was only just starting to heal and it would probably need stitches if he hurt it again.<p>

"You can borrow my shirt Rae. Yours is too wet to wear outside in the winter." Sam murmured softly clearly worried that he would cause another wave of tears.

Rachel just shrugged and continued to close her eyes as Quinn finished cleaning her hair. Santana walked into the bathroom and met Quinn's eyes. Quinn noted that Santana looked a little shaken. Words had clearly been exchanged with Puck after she had stopped the fight. She raised an eyebrow and Santana mouthed a 'tell you later'. They were all surprised when Blaine came skidding into the bathroom looking worried. Rachel opened her eyes and the first thing she noticed was his bloody knuckles. Everyone else followed her eyes to see a little bit of blood dripping onto the floor.

"What happened?" Rachel asked in a monotone that kind of scared everyone present. Her eyes somehow managed to convey a great sadness and emptiness in a way that had the other teens recoiling.

"I was getting ready for basketball practice when I heard Sam shouting at Puck. It wasn't too hard to put two and two together. Puck came in looking super pissed and got up in my face for looking at him. I asked him if he had really slushied you." He began as he watched Rachel's eyes for a flicker of emotion. Seeing nothing but forced apathy he continued. "He smirked at me and laughed coldly so I decked him in the face. I guess I surprised him because I got in another two punches before Beiste pulled me off him and told me to go home."

Sam clapped him on the back in appreciation. Quinn and Santana just stared at Rachel to see what her reaction was going to be. Rachel continued to stare blankly at the wall numbly as if the news didn't affect her in any way.

Santana quickly wrapped up Blaine's knuckles as Rachel changed out of her sweater and put on Sam's oversized plaid shirt. Balling up her sweater in her hands Rachel tossed it in the trash can wordlessly.

"Rach, isn't that your favourite sweater? You've been slushied in it so many times and always managed to get the stains out. I'm sure the purple will come out." Santana asked her friend worriedly.

"I never want to see it again." She said tonelessly as she walked out of the bathroom and towards the parking lot without another word to her friends.

"What the hell is going on with those two?" Blaine questioned. "I mean yeah I expected him to be upset when I saw him slip out after Finn's announcement. The look on his face was devastating. But who the hell was that guy?"

"That's the pre-Rachel Puck." Santana answered sadly. Shaking her head she moved to take a seat on the floor.

The rest of them slid down to join Santana on the floor as Quinn started talking.

"He was never quite that cold though. He was always trying to prove he was a badass by tormenting 'dorks'. He did a lot of bad stuff but he always felt bad for it afterwards."

"He's in love with her. How could he treat her so badly?" Sam wondered out loud, clearly not expecting an answer. Quinn and Blaine just shrugged their shoulders, not knowing the answer either.

Santana buried her head in her hands as she ran her fingers through her hair. After a moment she looked up at her friends and answered his rhetorical question.

"Rachel and Puck have been friends since we were like 7," Santana announced to some surprise. "They fell apart for a couple years at the beginning of high school but she's been his best friend since he was 7. He met her a couple days after his dad beat his mom and skipped town. He's not being the guy that he was before glee. He's being the guy that he would have become without Rachel. The guy that his angry 7 year old self would have become without Rachel Berry dancing and singing her way into his heart."

Quinn scooted over and wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders as Santana wiped away the tears running down her face.

"Amazing how everyone is so worried that Rachel's going to marry Finn in high school. They don't see that the real problem is Puck losing himself because of it," Blaine said thoughtfully. "And that losing himself means hurting everyone around him. And straight up destroying Rachel."

"Did you see her eyes? I've never seen her like that," Sam shuddered lightly before continuing. "Whenever Finn acted like a jackass she was sad. But she survived, she kept singing and dancing. Puck slushied her and the fight went right out of her.

The friends lapsed into silence for a few moments, each consumed with their worry for the pint-sized star.

"We need a plan." Quinn asserted. "We keep saying that we'll fix this but we can't do it on the fly. We can't just sing and watch them kiss and make up. She's still engaged to Finn and Puck has no intention of ever coming back to Glee."

"We'll figure it out tomorrow. I need sex. Today freaking sucked." Santana said as she got to her feet and walked out.

The other three sat in silence for a few more moments before they all stood up and headed out to their cars. Blaine and Sam traded hugs with Quinn before they got into their cars and drove off. Quinn cast a glance towards the football field where the basketball team was running laps. She stepped back in surprise when her eyes connected with Puck's. She cringed at the pain that she saw in them, he looked like he was being burned alive. Her eyes began to water as he glared at her brokenly. Recovering from her horror at the emotion his eyes showed she took a step towards the field. She watched as Puck shook his head and his eyes were cold and lifeless once again. She stopped walking as he turned his back and continued running laps around the track. Tears falling freely Quinn opened her car and got in. Taking a few moments to compose herself she realised that maybe there was hope afterall.

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><p>There it is. It's a lot of talking but I like the last bit. Let me know what you think.<p> 


	11. We Are Broken

Here's my favourite chapter so far. It was hard to write. It's a little short but it's a huge chapter. Enjoy!

I own nothing.

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><p>The next day the four friends kept an eye on Rachel. She was like a ghost, just drifting through her classes barely paying attention to her surroundings. She had sat with them during lunch but as she sat munching on her carrot sticks she didn't appear to realise she was sitting with her friends. Her eyes alternated between vacant and an overwhelming agony that made her difficult to be around. Her eyes were the only indication that she wasn't ok. Other students might assume that she was just tired if they didn't look closely enough, not that other students would care. The majority of the Glee club assumed that she was missing Finn. Santana, Blaine, Quinn and Sam knew that Finn was the farthest thing from her mind.<p>

Rachel was walking alongside Santana to her locker when she walked right into another classmate. Bouncing off of his chest she would have fallen to the ground if his arms hadn't caught her. He apologized and stared in shock when she kept walking as though she hadn't almost been knocked flat on her back and made her way to her locker in a daze. Santana just smiled at him weakly before following Rachel and leaning against the locker next to hers. As Santana studied her friend's face she realised that she looked like a zombie. She clearly hadn't slept last night if the dark circles were any indication and the slight puffiness in her eyes meant she had probably spent the whole night crying instead. Santana felt a prickling sensation on the back of her neck and whipped her head in Puck's direction. He was staring at Rachel with an emotion that Santana couldn't even begin to place. She wondered if he had seen Rachel's little collision from where he was standing. He realised that he was being watched and turned to level a glare at Santana before crashing his lips against a passing cheerleader's. Santana quickly turned to Rachel but realised with some relief that she was so out of it that she hadn't noticed anything. She figured at least that was working in her favor. She didn't want to see what Rachel's reaction would have been. She dropped Rachel off at her class with a promise that she'd see her in Glee and headed to her own. She sat with Q and napped during the lecture because she doubted that Trig was going to help her fix anything.

Santana and Quinn walked to the auditorium after school wondering who would perform today. They took a seat near the back beside Blaine, Sam and Artie and turned to face the stage. Mr. Schuester had sent them all a text message saying he wanted to use the Auditorium for the rest of the week's performances. As the lights dimmed Santana started to worry since Rachel had yet to appear. She was pulled out of her thoughts as the music started and Rachel walked onto the stage. Recognizing the music, Santana leaned over to Artie and asked him if he had his video camera. Raising his eyebrows inquisitively he pulled it out of his bag and started recording. She just couldn't shake the feeling that the video would come in handy later. Her hand shot out and grabbed Quinn's as Rachel opened her mouth.

Rachel walked out to the center of the stage and gripped the microphone stand tightly. She hadn't practiced this song, just having picked it out last period. She'd decided that the raw feeling would convey how she felt better than if she had rehearsed. She also wasn't so sure that she could sing this song more than once right now. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the intro washed over her. She opened her eyes and loosened her grip on the mic. Looking out into the darkness she started to sing.

**I am outside  
>And I've been waiting for the sun<strong>

She let go of the microphone completely and spread her arms as if reaching for the sun itself.

**With my wide eyes  
>I've seen worlds that don't belong<strong>

She dropped her hands to her sides and stared once again into the darkness of the auditorium. She was deeply grateful that she couldn't see anyone through the brightness of the stage lights.

**My mouth is dry with words I cannot verbalize  
>Tell me why we live like this<strong>

She clasped her hands together as she let the words flow through her.

**Keep me safe inside**  
><strong>Your arms like towers<strong>  
><strong>Tower over me<strong>

Tears building up in her eyes, she seemed to physically push the hurt down as her hands pushed downwards and she lifted her chin.

**Yeah  
>'Cause we are broken<strong>

She clutched at her chest as she bared her soul for the world to see.

**What must we do to restore**

**Our innocence**

She ran a hand through her hair as she took a deep breath

**And oh, the promise we adored  
>Give us life again<strong>

She reached towards the crowd as if they held the answer that she so desperately needed.

**'Cause we just wanna be whole**

Her arms slowly dropped back to her sides and her fingers bunched up the fabric of her simple black dress.

**Lock the doors**  
><strong>Cause I'd like to capture this voice<strong>

Her hands clasped together and she looked towards the heavens as if she was singing a prayer.

**That came to me tonight**  
><strong>So everyone will have a choice<strong>

She seemed to fold into herself in brokenness, with only the power of her voice holding her upright.

**And under red lights  
>I'll show myself it wasn't forged<strong>

Tears started to slip unnoticed down her cheeks as doubt clouded her beautiful features.

**We're at war  
>We live like this<strong>

Her friends watched as she choked back a sob.

**Keep me safe inside  
>Your arms like towers<br>Tower over me**

Rachel's words were a plea for a saviour. A saviour she clearly wasn't expecting anymore; as the tears started to fall more freely.

**'Cause we are broken**  
><strong>What must we do to restore<strong>  
><strong>Our innocence<strong>  
><strong>And oh, the promise we adored<strong>  
><strong>Give us life again<strong>  
><strong>'Cause we just wanna be whole<strong>

Rachel wrapped her arms around herself again desperately trying to make it through the song.

**Tower over me  
>Tower over me<strong>

She shoved a fist in the air in defiance against the pain ripping at her chest.

**And I'll take the truth at any cost**

She took the final verse putting everything she had in it. The tears streaming down her face and her fists clenched.

**'Cause we are broken**  
><strong>What must we do to restore<strong>  
><strong>Our innocence<strong>  
><strong>And oh, the promise we adored<strong>  
><strong>Give us life again<strong>  
><strong>'Cause we just wanna be whole<strong>

She dropped to her knees. The last line barely a whisper.

**'Cause we just wanna be whole**

The only sound in the theatre was her heaving breath as she sobbed into her hands.

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><p>It's pretty heavy, but totally necessary I promise. Review please?<p>

**We are broken - Paramore.**


	12. You are so loved Babydoll

Here's the chapter after Rachel's performance. It picks up right where the last one left off and I really enjoyed writing this one. Enjoy!

I own nothing.

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><p>Santana's hand covered her mouth to stop any sobs from escaping her lips as her other hand wiped furiously at the tears staining her face. She glanced at Q who was sobbing silently into her hands. Sam looked angrier than she had ever seen him as his knuckles turned white where he gripped the armrests. His lips were in a tight white line and his eyes were red-rimmed. Blaine was wiping away tears with a very unsteady hand, taking very deep breaths in an attempt to steady his radical breathing. She watched as Artie closed the video camera and removed his glasses to wipe his eyes on his sleeves. Movement from behind Artie caught her attention. She turned towards the doors just in time to see a Mohawk and letterman jacket whip out of sight. She faintly heard his footsteps running down the hallway as fast as his feet would carry him. Santana stored away that information for later and turned once again to face the very unhappy girl on stage. Her sobs had turned into broken whimpers as she remained on her knees with her face in her hands. Santana stood from her seat and ran down the stairs and onto the stage. She wrapped her arms around a shaking Rachel and bent her head to whisper fiercely in her ear.<p>

"I got you B. I'm here. You WILL be whole." Santana heard applause and for a moment considered killing everyone. Then she looked at Rachel who was staring wide-eyed out at the crowd. She had once said she would die without applause. Apparently it eased the pain of her broken heart just a tiny bit too.

"That was by far the most inspired performance I have ever seen, anywhere. Rachel you were literally breath-taking. I've never seen anything like that before."

They looked up as Mr. Schuester stood from his seat at the front and continued praising Rachel's performance. As the lights came back on Santana realised that not a single person had dry eyes. Rachel's perfomance had brought everyone in the club to some understanding of just how destroyed she was. Tina was still sobbing into Mike's shoulder who gripped her tightly while he stared at the place just above Rachel's head blinking back tears. Mercedes had one hand on her chest with her puffy eyes closed as she worked to compose herself. Rory was running his hands through his hair as he stared wide-eyed at the stage. Ms. Pillsbury was dabbing at her very red face with a tissue as she gripped Mr. Schue's hand like a vice-grip. Brittany was blubbering in the first row and Santana ached for her. The blonde girl was considered dumb by many but she empathized with people's pain so completely. Santana extended her hand towards her girlfriend and Brittany flew up the stairs and into her arms. She sniffled into Santana's shoulder as she threw her arms around Rachel, mumbling words of love into the girl's ear. Rachel was still staring out at the glee club in surprise. Santana wondered if maybe she hadn't realised that anyone would be out there. Or if the pain of the situation had just caused her to lose her bearings as she laid her hurt out on the stage. They all sat there for a few moments with only the sound of sniffling filling the air.

Mercedes stood up and made her way to the stage. She walked over and pulled Rachel to her feet and into her arms as she began to whisper in her ear.

"I haven't been a great friend to you, or anyone else this year Rach. I can't take any of it back and I don't know why you're so broken but I WILL be here for you. Do you understand Diva?" She asked as she looked into Rachel's puffy eyes.

Rachel nodded and gave her a weak, wet smile. Mercedes nodded back, letting go of the girl and headed out of the auditorium muttering about her crappy waterproof mascara.

Tina and Mike headed up the stairs and both leaned down to give her a hug. Neither one of them knew what to say. She seemed to understand though and she just mouthed a 'thank you' to each of them before they followed Mercedes' path out of the room hand in hand.

Rory walked up and hugged her awkwardly.

"I may not know you well Rachel, but I think you're lovely. I hope to see you smile soon." He grinned when she reached up and kissed his cheek in response.

Sam and Quinn walked up the stage together. Quinn stood back as Sam reached for her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I absolutely fucking adore you Rachel Berry. Your friendship is a blessing that I could never have imagined to even ask for. You're beautiful and strong and amazing. And for the record I'd take a million more black eyes to never see you so sad again." He kissed her temple before pushing her into Quinn's arms.

Rachel felt Quinn's body shake as she continued to cry. Quinn's sobs saying more than any words could to describe how much she cared. The two of them held each other tightly until Rachel leaned closer to whisper in Quinn's ear.

"Thank you for caring so much. I love you too." Quinn smiled at her gratefully and stepped back into Sam's waiting arms.

Blaine stepped forwards and threw his arms around her spinning her around. He stopped when he heard a small giggle escape her throat. Placing her back on her feet he placed on hand on her cheek.

"You are so loved Babydoll. Boyfriend or no boyfriend, you will ALWAYS be my Maria." He pecked her on the lips before wiping her tears away with his thumb and then linking his fingers with hers.

Rachel smiled up at him before nodding in thanks to Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury who gave her a smile and a wave before leaving the building. Looking over at Artie she laughed lightly when he drew a heart on his chest and pointed at her. She turned her head towards Santana who was comforting Brittany on the floor. Dropping Blaine's hand she walked over to the girls before sinking to her knees in front of Brittany.

"I don't want you to be sad!" Brittany yelled before throwing herself at Rachel.

Rachel just rubbed her back and made soothing noises as Brittany cried herself out.

"I love you alot. You're a unicorn Rachel! Did you see how much everyone loved you?" Brittany said brightly once she had stopped crying.

Rachel looked around at the friends that had remained after her solo and turned back to Brittany.

"Yeah Brit. I do now."

"He loves you too you know. He's just upset right now." Brittany said with a smile.

"Who does?"

"Puck, silly. Puckleberry would never end over something so silly."

Rachel looked at the ditzy blond and hoped more than anything that she was right.

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><p>There it is. Hope you enjoyed it. Please review.<p> 


	13. Fright Night

This is one of two chapters that people have been begging for. I hope you enjoy it.

I own nothing.

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><p>The group of friends decided to have a movie night at the Berry's house. Rachel hadn't asked any of them to stay with her, but her eyes had begged for company. Pulling the couches together the six friends were cuddled up comfortably watching horror movies. No one had questioned Rachel's choice in movie genre because she clearly needed a good distraction. Halfway through Paranormal activity the small girl was screaming along with the rest of them. They were in the middle of watching 'Fright Night' when Blaine's cell phone started blaring 'Blackbird'. Excusing himself, he stepped outside to speak with his boyfriend.<p>

"Hey Babe, how's Iowa?" He said with some excitement. He was worried when his boyfriend didn't answer immediately.

"Is everything okay Kurt?"

"Yeah sort of. Well I mean no it isn't."

"What's wrong? Is this about the video of Rachel singing that I sent you? Cause you don't need to worry. We're taking care of it," He soothed. "We're actually over at her house watching movies right now. I saw her smile ten minutes ago I swear. Wasn't she breath-taking? I've never seen an audience react that way to a performance."

"She was unbelievable Blaine. I was crying for like twenty minutes afterwards," Kurt answered sadly. "But that's not what's wrong."

"It's not like you showed it to Finn of anything right?" Blaine joked.

"Well that's the thing. I was showing it to Carol because you know how much she loves Rachel's voice. I didn't think to watch it alone first. So we watched it together and both of us were crying. She asked me why Rachel was so sad and I told her that Puck isn't talking to her anymore and that he quit Glee because of the engagement."

"Kurt! How could you tell Rachel's boyfriend's mother that?" Blaine replied with frustration.

"I know! I have such a big mouth when I'm upset. But that's not all." Kurt paused and took a deep breath. "Finn saw the video."

"You've got to be joking." Blaine dragged a hand through his hair anxiously. "Well that's not so bad. He probably thought she just misses him or something right?"

The silence on the other line did not bode well.

"Kurt?"

"He walked in on me telling Carole about Puck. He heard enough that he demanded to see the video. I tried to delete the video but he grabbed it from me and locked himself in the other room while he watched it," Kurt sighed tiredly. "He knows she's singing because of Puck, not him."

"Shit."

"I'm so sorry." Kurt whimpered.

"Don't worry about it, we'll handle it. Someone will stay here with her tonight in case he calls. I have to go. Love you." Blaine said as he clicked off. He sat on the front steps for a few minutes trying to plan for the inevitable phone call. There was already so much crap going on and he knew that Rachel couldn't handle anything else.

When the cold started to bite into his bare arms he headed back inside and sat down to watch the rest of the movie. As the movie ended he asked Rachel if she could grab him a glass of water, playing on her need to be the perfect hostess. As soon as she had left the room he turned to update the others on his phone call with Kurt. They all tried to hide their horror as Rachel walked back into the room with his beverage. Quinn cleared her throat before cuddling closer to Rachel's side.

"Hey Rach, do you mind if I sleep over tonight?" Quinn asked sweetly.

Twenty minutes later everyone else had gone home and the two girls were upstairs in their pjs. Quinn had just finished braiding Rachel's hair when 'Pretending' filled the room. Rachel grabbed her phone and accepted the call. Quinn did he best to not react in any way.

"Hello Finn. We haven't talked since you left. How's the trip going?" Rachel asked.

Quinn watched as Rachel's smile turned into a frown. She strained her ears and heard what sounded like sniffling on Finn's side of the conversation.

"Finn? Are you alright?" Rachel questioned with concern. She looked up at Quinn and held up a finger before she locked herself in the bathroom.

"Finn what's going on? Why are you crying?"

"_I saw the video of you singing."_

"Finn, I don't know what you're talking about." Rachel answered quietly.

"_Blaine recorded your Glee performance today and sent it to Kurt." _Rachel felt her pulse quicken as she tried not to panic. _"I heard him telling my mom that you sang it because Puck won't talk to you."_

"Don't worry about it Finn. Noah and I are just having a disagreement because I accidently told his mother that he had skipped school." Rachel said calmly as if the whole thing wasn't tearing her up.

"_That's not what Kurt said. He said that Puck dumped a slushy on you and you've been crying all week. He also said that Puck won't talk to you because you agreed to marry me."_

"Well I don't know why Kurt would say such a thing to you, but I assure you that Noah is mad because of the trouble I got him in. It has nothing to do with us being engaged."

"_Puck would never slushy you because of a little fight Rachel and you know it. He's been in love with you longer than I have." _ Finn told her and it sounded like it physically hurt him to do so.

"Finn. Noah isn't in love with me, we're just friends. Besides, he won't even look at me." Rachel couldn't believe the weird turn this conversation had taken.

"_He won't look at you because you broke his heart when you agreed to be my wife, Rach."_

Rachel's eyes began to fill and her breathing began to stutter as she took in what Finn was telling her. He was convinced that Noah was in love with her. He was accusing her of breaking Noah's heart. She shook her head to clear her thoughts as she heard Finn continue.

"_He's been in love with you for years and I've ignored it. I figured that you loved me enough that the guilt of screwing over my best friend would fade. I knew it would break his heart when we announced our engagement and I did it anyways." _He paused as he choked back a sob of regret.

Rachel opened her mouth to say something, anything to stop Finn from telling her these things; things that couldn't be unheard. But before she could find the words he calmed himself enough to finish.

"_I knew it would break his heart Rach. I just didn't know that it would break yours too." _She could hear the sobs coming freely now.

"Finn, I don't really know what to say. This is a lot of information to take in." She paused as she gathered the strength to lie. "This isn't breaking my heart. I love you."

"_Rach, I've never seen you so unhappy before. You were sad when Jesse broke eggs on your head, but that was more about the vegan thing. You cried a little when I broke up with you in the hallway, but you were dating someone else a week later. You stood strong with barely any tears when Shelby left even though it hurt you so badly. You cried when I broke up with you and you were sad for a long time but you survived. When I chose Quinn you were disappointed but you focused on your future and kept smiling and singing showtunes. When you sang that song today? You were broken. I have never seen anyone that broken Rach. It would be really easy to blame Puck, but I did this by pretending that I didn't know how he feels about you. I knew he'd lash out and you'd lose him and I hoped you wouldn't care, but I was wrong. You are so totally fucking destroyed. And it breaks my heart."_

Rachel just sat on the edge of her bathtub as she thought about what he had said. She was crying just as heavily as he was now.

"That doesn't mean anything. I love you Finn." She said weakly.

"_I love you too Rachel. I know you love me. But you love Puck more. You can live without me; you've proven that whenever I was too stupid to appreciate you. You can't live without Puck though and I love you too much to ask you to try."_

"Finn, what are you saying?" She cried.

"_I don't think we should be together anymore." _He responded after a moment with resolve.

"But I don't understand." She wailed.

"_I've done a lot of bad things in my life. Calling my father a loser was one of them. But I will not hold you back anymore. You don't belong here in Lima Rach. I do. It broke my heart when I saw how broken you were and I can't do that to you. Puck hasn't spoken to you in a week and you sang like someone had died. You need to be happy Rach, and you won't be without him." _

"So we're not together anymore?"

"_I'm sorry Rach. Fix things with Puck ok?" _She thought she heard one last strangled sob as he hung up.

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><p>So people have been begging for this chapter from the beginning and it's been written for over a week. I'm stoked to finally have it up. Tell me what you think.<p> 


	14. Oh my God

This chapter starts up where the last one left off. Enjoy!

I own nothing.

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><p>Quinn sat filing her nails worriedly as she waited for Rachel to leave the bathroom. She thought she had heard her crying earlier. She fired off a quick text to Santana letting her know that Finn had called.<p>

**Santana: Well what happened?**

Quinn was about to text her back when the door to Rachel's adjoining bathroom opened. She immediately jumped to her feet and hurried over when she saw Rachel's tearstained face.

"He-he broke up with me. He b-broke up with me." Rachel whined as Quinn pulled her onto the bed and into her arms.

"I don't understand." Quinn said as soon as her shock had faded.

"H-he saw a video of me singing 'We are Broken' after school. Blaine sent it to Kurt and he s-showed Carol and said I was upset because Noah is mad at me."

Quinn just stared at her.

"Finn said that Noah isn't mad because I got him trouble." Rachel paused as Quinn's eyes widened. "He said that Noah was mad at me because I said yes."

Quinn was about to respond when a knocking on Rachel's window startled them both. Santana was sitting on a branch in the tree outside her window. Quinn hurriedly opened the window and helped Santana in. She sat on the bed with Quinn and waited for Rachel to continue.

"Finn said that Noah is mad because I said yes." Rachel repeated.

She watched as Santana and Quinn shared another glance and she finally realised what those glances might mean.

"He wasn't wrong?" Rachel whispered. "San, please tell me the truth."

"He wasn't mad about you ratting him out, I doubt his mom cared at all when she realised why he was out getting plastered." Santana replied.

"Plastered?" Rachel asked weakly.

Santana and Quinn just nodded.

"Finn also said that us getting engaged broke Noah's heart." She didn't bother asking for confirmation, she saw the way that Santana and Quinn's eyes widened.

"How long has Noah been in love with me?" she asked quietly. Neither one of them answered her. Neither one of them even looked at her.

"How long?"

Santana looked up at her for a few moments as if decided how much to tell.

"If I had to guess? Since you were 7 years old Berry."

Rachel fell off the bed in surprise. She pulled herself back up and she started pacing.

"Since I was 7? Are you serious?" She asked hysterically. "How could he have possibly fallen in love with someone when he was 7 years old? I'm not even sure that a child can form an attachment like that at such a young age."

"You walked into his life a few days after his Dad left Rachel. You didn't pity him, you just became his friend." Quinn said quietly. "His life got ugly really quickly. And you added a brightness to it. You don't take no for an answer so he probably couldn't shut you out."

"Why didn't he ever tell me?"

"He's never once thought he was good enough for you. You know he thinks he's a Lima Loser. He was always content to just have you in his life." Santana answered gently.

"But that's ludicrous! How could he ever think that way? He's never been a Lima Loser!"

"We know."

"I don't understand. If he was content to just have me in his life then why did he just suddenly kick me out of it? I haven't gone anywhere."

"Finn made Puck promise to leave you alone last year after the 'Need you now' duet." Santana smiled as Rachel stomped her foot in outrage. "Finn knew exactly how Puck feels about you and he's never pretended to be okay with the two of you being friends. By saying yes to Finn, you said no to Puck. By choosing Finn, you chose not to have Puck in your life."

"But I would NEVER choose to not have Noah in my life. I would never allow Finn to tell me who I can and cannot be friends with!"

The two girls exchanged another glance as they seemed to mentally argue over who would speak next. Santana won apparently because Quinn turned to her with an apologetic smile.

"Rach, you just agreed to marry Finn. You said yes when you knew that he had no intention of EVER leaving Ohio. You were about to give up your hopes and dreams for Finn. Puck knew the implications of your yes even before you did. He figured if you were willing to give up on New York and Broadway then giving him up wouldn't be hard at all." Quinn explained as gently as possible.

Rachel realised that Noah thought he didn't matter to her. He had been willing to take whatever piece of her that she was willing to give. It's why he had never said no to her, no matter how ridiculous the request. It's why he'd been so angry when Jesse had egged her. Why he had refused to sleep with her that night. He hadn't left for Finn. He'd left because he didn't want her to regret it in the morning. He hadn't wanted to be one of her regrets either. The memories of their time together all came at her in a blur. As she examined the memories of their time together she felt tears streaming down her face.

"He loves me." She breathed out.

Santana and Quinn had watched her zone out with some concern. They had been whispering about their next move when Rachel finally came out of it.

"He loves me." She repeated a little louder.

They watched as she started to smile. Her eyes started to sparkle at the idea of Puck loving her.

"Yeah he does." Santana and Quinn said together.

Rachel looked between the two of them and the smile slid off of her face. Throwing herself on the bed she burst into tears.

Santana was starting to wonder if the stress of the week had finally driven Berry insane. They always joked about her being crazy but this was the first time she wondered seriously if maybe they were right. She glanced at Quinn who just shrugged her shoulders in confusion. Santana had seen enough tears for a lifetime and she was fed up. Grabbing Rachel by the shoulders she forced her to look at her.

"Rachel, why the hell are you crying?"

"He loves me San." She wailed. "He loves me and I broke his heart!"

Santana and Quinn just stared at her as they realised she finally understood everything. It was probably a good thing that Puck wasn't speaking to them or he would totally kill them. Rachel rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling as tears streamed down her face.

"Oh my God! What have I done?"

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><p>There it is, everything's out in the open now. Let me know what you think.<p> 


	15. The Juiciest Bit of Gossip

Here's the next chapter.

I own nothing.

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><p>Rachel entered school the next day with Quinn and Santana walking on either side of her. Rachel nodded towards Santana as she stalked off down the hallway in search of Jacob Ben Israel. Sam ran up to the girls and threw his arms around Rachel.<p>

"Q texted me and told me about you and Finn. Are you alright?" He asked as he pulled back to look into her eyes.

"Honestly I'm still in shock. But I'm ok. Have you seen Noah around today?" Rachel answered quietly.

"No, sorry haven't seen him yet." He turned with his arm around her shoulder to walk the two girls to their lockers. Quinn gave Rachel a small hug before walking towards her own locker with Sam in tow.

Opening up her locker Rachel was assaulted by random reminders of her relationship with Finn. Sighing quietly, she started taking down the pictures and mementos of their time together. She held onto them for a moment before turning and tossing them in the nearby trash can. Grabbing her books, she headed to her class early. She sat quietly in her desk and closed her eyes, thinking back on the night before. The girls had done their best to comfort Rachel as she tried to work her way through two very real, very different pains. She was so sad about the end of her relationship with Finn. The two of them had truly loved each other once and while she may not have been sure about marrying him; she hadn't thought of breaking up with him either. They had gone through so much together and she was having a hard time getting her head around the idea that they were over for good.

Suddenly knowing why Noah had become so cold to her this last week was devastating. She had never really put all of the signs together to realise how he felt about her. The clues had all been there but she hadn't put them together until it was too late. She had needed to be given the answer to know what the question was. She now understood why he was so angry and why he had been acting the way he had been. She had no idea how she was going to fix things with him. She was sure that a simple sorry would not suffice. He never would have slushied her if it was that simple. His heart was broken and she was the cause of it.

She had been lamenting her part in his pain when Santana had come up with the plan. She had said that it would be best to just rip the band-aid the next day. She had said that telling Jewfro first thing in the morning would ensure that everyone would know that Finchel had met its final demise. Rachel had argued vehemently that she didn't want to be the laughing stock of the school. Quinn had cut in and said that it was actually a great idea and it might solve all of her problems. The two girls had turned to the beautiful blonde as she explained her theory. She had said that she would only have to deal with one day of gossip if they got it over right away. She had also mentioned that if Noah heard the news he might react in some way. Rachel had asked for them to let her think about it and the three girls had gone to sleep. When they were driving to school in Santana's car that morning she had agreed to the plan.

"It's done," Santana breathed out as she slipped into the seat next to Rachel. "He was typing it up on his blog from his phone as I left. I left out the details, but he'll probably make up his own."

Rachel blew out a breath as she tried to relax.

"Everyone should know by second period B. I'll find Puckerman during lunch and feel him out," She stared at the girl who appeared to be panicking beside her. "I've got you Chica."

Rachel took another breath and turned to her best friend.

"Thanks San."

Rachel sat tensely for the first forty minute of class and felt a wave of relief wash over her when she realised that Noah wouldn't be attending class that morning. She wasn't sure how she would handle coming face to face with him now that she knew why he was so angry. She looked over at Santana who was subtly checking her phone under her desk while the teacher talked. She nodded her head at Rachel who immediately took out her phone and hid it under her desk as she checked out Jacob's blog. Several people had subscribed to his blog, so they all would have received texts when he updated. She looked up briefly and thanked God that none of her classmates were looking at their phones or her at the moment. She turned her attention back to the blog.

**Good morning McKinley! I have the juiciest bit of gossip for you coming out of our very own Glee Club. It is with much pleasure and great happiness that I announce the latest and hopefully final demise of Finchel. As many of you know I have a personal interest in the life of Miss Rachel Berry and as soon as class is dismissed I will be stopping by her locker to console her likely broken heart.**

**Although my source refused to give details, speculation is that trouble in paradise started brewing when Gigantor asked my lovely angel to marry him last week. I haven't been able to find a source that can confirm or deny her answer to the question. Although one source (who will remain unnamed) threatened to run me over with his truck if I kept talking before disappearing into a closet with Linda the Cheerio. Any guesses who?**

**With the self-proclaimed power couple of The New Directions over will the club topple? Or will they manage to scrape through the chaos with minimal damage only to lose at Nationals once again? I promise that I will remain on the case and update when I have more details.**

**Anyone who was considering expressing their "Glee" (get it?) over the breakup of our resident diva and dimwitted jock with a slushy may want to cool their jets. Although I cannot guarantee protection from a certain Mohawked stud for my princess; I have been warned that anyone who messes with Rachel will be severely dealt with. Santana may or may not have razor blades hidden in her hair, I've never been able to confirm. **

**Enjoy your day McKinley. I plan on enjoying mine. Rachel Berry prepare yourself.**

Rachel looked up to see Santana fighting a laugh. She was torn between horror and laughter. She was upset that Jacob had so many details about the breakup and she hated how many times Noah was mentioned. The references to his obsession with her were nauseating and hilarious. Before she could stop herself, she snorted in laughter. The teacher glared at her ad Rachel tried to calm herself.

"Sorry, she's just been through a traumatic breakup and she might be a bit hysterical." Santana said with a laugh of her own. Thankfully the bell rang before the teacher could answer. The two girls left the room quickly and laughed even harder when they saw Jewfro waiting at Rachel's locker with flowers.

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><p>I hope you enjoyed it. I wanted to add a little bit of lightness after all of the angst. Let me know.<p> 


	16. Turning into such a girl

**Here's the next chapter. The whole thing is through Santana's perspective. Enjoy!**

I own nothing.

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><p>Santana moved towards Rachel's locker with her eyes on Jacob. Rachel was two steps behind her fighting a smile. Jewfro turned around and his eyes widened as Santana reached up into her ponytail. Rachel's snort echoed behind her as he actually wet himself and ran in the other direction. Santana turned to her smugly as Rachel went through her locker.<p>

"I got you B," Santana looked around and narrowed her eyes at a group of cheerleaders who were glancing from their phones to Rachel and back again. "Looks like Jewfro did his job. Nasty little pecker."

Rachel pursed her lips and followed her friend's gaze around the halls. Sighing she closed her locker gently and turned back to face Santana.

"I'm going to head to class San. Thanks for getting rid of Jacob." Rachel gave her friend a weak smile before turning around and heading to her next class.

Santana leaned against Rachel's locker, watching the small girl walk away from her. She noticed that heads turned and eyes followed her down the hall. Rachel lifted her chin as the whispers around her grew louder as she rounded the corner and out of sight. Scanning the hallway Santana searched for the only eyes that mattered in this situation. He had yet to make an appearance today, but she knew better than to assume that he wasn't here. Puck had always been good at not being found when it suited him. There was almost no chance that he hadn't heard about the Finchel breakup yet. She knew for a fact that he had subscribed to Jewfro's blog last year to keep an eye on what the freak posted about Rachel. Pushing off of the locker Santana headed to locker room instead of her second period class. She quickly changed into her sports bra and shorts and headed into the weight room. Finding it empty, she grabbed a pair of gloves and spent the rest of the morning taking out her frustrations on the punching bag. At some point, probably around third period, Blaine joined her and they alternated use of the bag. Neither spoke until just before the bell for lunch.

"How's she holding up?" Blaine asked as Santana wiped her face with a hand towel.

"I'm not really sure. I think she's too focused on Puck to worry about the end of Finchel." She answered before giving the bag one last kick. "Have you seen him yet today?"

Blaine just shook his head before giving her arm a squeeze and heading to the locker rooms for a shower. Santana caught her breath before heading to the girl's room to do the same. Claiming a stall, she grabbed her shower supplies and stood under the hot spray until her body began to relax. Spreading her minty shampoo through her hair she tried to clear her mind. She turned off the water when she was sure that she was clean. Changing back into her Cheerio uniform, she ran a towel through her hair roughly before securing it in the customary high ponytail. Stopping by the mirror, she added some gloss and mascara. She adjusted her grimace into a cool indifference and marched out of the locker room as the lunch bell rang.

She stopped by the lunchroom to grab an apple and a diet soda. She dropped a kiss to Rachel's hair as she brushed by their table and back out of the cafeteria. She stalked through the hallways as she finished off her apple, tossing it at Jewfro's new pants. She didn't bother stopping by Puck's locker because she knew that he wouldn't be anywhere in sight. She checked the choir room and auditorium without much hope. They were Rachel's typical haunts and she seriously doubted he would risk running into her. She breezed through the parking lot and noticed his empty red truck parked there.

She had half known where she would find him before she started searching; she just needed a few moments to prepare for it. She'd had no idea what to say to him when she finally caught up with him. Rolling her eyes, she realised that the time she spent stalling was wasted because she still had no idea what to say. Throwing her shoulders back she headed to the bleachers. It was unofficially Puckleberry's place and she knew that he would be there.

Rounding the corner she stopped and watched him for a few moments. He was staring out at the field into nothingness. Inhaling deeply, she climbed the bleachers and was grateful for the turtleneck and sheer leggings she wore under her Cheerio uniform. He didn't turn to face her as she sat down a few feet from him. She sat there beside him looking out into the field for a few minutes before she turned to face him. She studied his profile and she noticed that the hard lines were still present, but he looked tired like he hadn't slept in a few days. If she had to guess she'd say that he'd probably drank Jack every night until he blacked out for the last week and a half.

"You look like shit." She hadn't meant to say that, but her thought to mouth filter had never worked all that well.

She was relieved when he just snorted bemusedly and continued to stare out at the field.

"I shouldn't have said what I said the other day. I didn't know how to handle what was going on so I took her side," she paused as she searched for some reaction. Finding none; she continued. "Everyone's there for her and no one's been there for you. I'm sorry."

He shuffled uncomfortably before turning to fix her with an emotionless stare. She sighed before scooting closer to him. He looked back out to the field as she rested her head on his shoulder and twined her fingers in his. His shoulders relaxed and his fingers unconsciously tightened around her own. The two of them sat like this for the next hour. The fourth period bell had already rung and fifth period would begin soon as well. Santana felt sad about the fact that her next words needed to be said. She was upset that this little bit of peace had to be disrupted at all.

"I saw you yesterday." She whispered and flinched when she felt the tension return to his shoulders. "I know you were there, you might not have seen everything but you saw enough."

His fingers tried to twist out of her grip as his shoulder moved away from her head. She just gripped his fingers tighter and turned to face him stubbornly.

"Finn saw it too." She said quietly and he stopped moving. His eyes were on hers and full of an emotion that she didn't understand.

"He broke up with her Puck." She started only to have him try to twist away from her again. "They're over and she's okay with it."

She sighed when he managed to break away from her and started to walk away. Standing up and following him she gave it one more try.

"She knows how you feel." He stopped in his tracks but didn't turn around. "Finn told her when they broke up. She knows how you feel and she's finally not with him."

He continued to stand there wordlessly and Santana felt anger boiling up inside of her. She had expected this to change things and she could tell by his stance that she was wrong.

"Damnit Puck!" She stomped over to him and roughly turned him to face her. His face was unreadable. "She's single and she knows you love her. You've been waiting for this chance for the last 10 years. So fucking do something. Feel something for God's sake!"

"It doesn't matter anymore." He mumbled so quietly that she barely made out the words.

"Of course it fucking matters! Go and make her yours. Stop breaking both of your hearts because I am so fucking done with watching you two destroy each other!" She shrieked as she pushed at his chest; just praying for a reaction.

He looked into her eyes and she felt the fight leaving her as quickly as it had come. The tears had already pooled in her eyes before he confirmed what she saw in his eyes.

"It's too late." He said before turning and walking away.

She just sat down and buried her face as the tears fell. She had been so sure that he would react in some way. Why the fuck was she crying again? Jesus, she was turning into such a fucking girl. She growled in frustration before wiping away her tears and taking out her cell phone.

**Group message to Blaine, Sam, Kurt and Quinn.**

**Santana: It didn't work. So you bitches need to get on your game faces. I expect a plan to fix this from each of you by the end of the day. Because this shit is gettin' real old.**

Sending the message, she leaned back against the cool metal and closed her eyes as a plan of her own formed.

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><p>I hope you guys enjoyed it. I love the Pucktana confrontation. Let me know.<p> 


	17. Tots

**Hey guys, here's the next chapter. People asked for some other POVs on everything that's happened in the last day or so. So here's Blaine's.**

**Just a quick note for clarification. Alot of people are asking me to make Rachel tell Puck that she's in love with him. But Rachel isn't in love with him, at least not exactly. Which is one of the main reasons that Puck hasn't done anything since the end of Finchel. She loves and misses him and she's broken by the loss of his friendship, but she hadn't diagnosed what that means yet.**

**I own nothing.**

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><p>Blaine kept an eye out for Rachel throughout the day. After their little meeting in the weight room he'd added Santana to the growing list of people that he was worried about. Kurt was damn near inconsolable about his part in causing both Finn and Rachel more pain. It had taken an hour of assuring him that it was inevitable for the boy to calm down. The person he was most worried about was Puck though. The two of them had become pretty good friends since he had transferred to McKinley. Puck had been the one who suggested he try out for the basketball team one day after they had played a game of pickup after Glee practice. He hung out with Puck enough that Kurt had once accused him of cheating. Puck had laughingly assured Kurt that while Blaine was 'bangable' in his own right he wasn't exactly Puck's type. Neither had said anything when Puck had glanced towards Rachel unconsciously, proving just what his type was. He had felt a little guilty about decking him the other day but Puck would probably thank him for it once he got his head out of his ass.<p>

"Hey Maria." He greeted Rachel softly as he joined her at her table for lunch.

She just raised her head and smiled weakly before turning back to poking at her salad. He watched her play with her food for a few minutes and considered joking about it not being polite like she always told Puck when he played with his food. He figured the reminder wouldn't help her mood though so he tried a different tactic.

"I saw Jewfro's blog post this morning. Are you ok with it?"

"Yes, Santana and Quinn convinced me that it would be the easiest way to let everyone know that Finn and I had decided to part ways." She answered stiffly.

"Little dudes a creep eh?" He grinned when Rachel shot him something close to a smile.

Santana brushed by their table and dropped a kiss to Rachel's hair. Blaine knew that she was searching for Puck and did his best to distract Rachel from the fact. He spent the rest of lunch stealing bits of her salad until she began to eat it herself in retaliation. He knew that it was childish but she looked like she hadn't slept or eaten in days. He wouldn't be surprised if she had dropped a few pounds in the last week. They really needed to fix things fast because this drama was actually having physical repercussions for Puck and Rachel.

"Rach, watch this." He mouthed.

Reaching for one of Mercedes' tots he grinned at Rachel before tossing it into Mercedes' hair. Rachel's eyes widened as the other Diva shrieked in fury and Blaine cackled in response. Rachel did her best to stifle a giggle as Mercedes got up to chase Blaine around the table. When Blaine danced out of her way the two of them stopped in shock as Rachel's laughter echoed through the lunch room. The two called a truce in relief that they had brought a small amount of joy to the broken girl. The whole club spent the rest of the meal trying to coax more laughter from Rachel with some success. As the bell rang Blaine waited behind as Rachel cleared away her garbage and walked with her to her locker. He studied her features for a clue of how or what she was feeling. She turned to face him and smiled before standing up on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek softly. Placing a hand where her lips had been she smiled softly.

"Thanks."

"For what?" He asked in confusion.

"For trying so hard to make me happy. You guys have been so fantastic this week and I don't deserve it." She trailed off sadly averting her gaze to the floor.

Blaine put a finger under her chin, lifting her face until her eyes met his.

"You deserve all of the friendship in the world Rachel Berry. Why would you think differently?"

"I did this. Noah is so hurt because of my bad decisions and thoughtless actions. You should all be with him instead of me. I would understand." She explained quietly.

"Rachel you would never intentionally hurt anyone, least of all Puck. Stop blaming yourself and let him get over this. Regardless of fault, both of you are hurt so don't push your friends away. We're doing our best to be there for him. San's with him right now I think. So stop stressing out and just focus on making it through the day." He didn't break eye contact until she nodded.

Blaine pulled her into a hug before walking with her to their next class. He spent the majority of fourth period wondering how Santana's talk with Puck had gone. The others were convinced that he would react in some big way to the end of Finchel but he wasn't so sure. The end of Finn and Rachel didn't mean that Rachel wanted to be with Puck and he was sure that Puck would see it that way. Although he believed that she did love Puck in a way far stronger than she loved Finn.

Kurt had recapped the breakup call last night before he went to bed. It sounded like even Finn saw the way that Rachel was totally destroyed by Puck's dismissal of their friendship. Finn had compared how she had felt after all of their breakups to how she felt about the end of her friendship with Puck. He had to give the dude some credit; he hadn't thought he was sensitive or smart enough to piece it all together like that. He felt a little bad for Finn because he had done the right thing by giving Rachel up and he was hurting for it. But if he was being honest he hated him a little bit for being so damn selfish in the first place. Rachel should have said no to begin with and Puck shouldn't have just freaked out the way he had; but Finn could have prevented it all because he had known how it would end.

Glancing at the clock he realised he only had a minute or two left before the bell rang. His front pocket vibrated. Glancing around to make sure the teacher wasn't looking, he pulled out his phone. Seeing a message from Santana he clicked on the message.

**Group message with Santana, Blaine, Sam, Kurt and Quinn.**

**Santana: It didn't work. So you bitches need to get on your game faces. I expect a plan to fix this from each of you by the end of the day. Because this shit is gettin' real old.**

Blaine did his best to quiet his groan of frustration as he put his phone back in his pocket. The bell rang and he met Rachel at the front of the class. He gave her a quick kiss to the temple before heading towards his own locker to drop off his books. He normally spent his free period studying but he decided he'd head to the track and run laps instead. He needed to clear his head if he was going to come up with a plan to fix this. After changing into his gym clothes, he tied up his sneakers and headed out to the field. He plugged into his IPod and began running. He was on his third lap when the plan started to form in his mind.

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><p>Hope you enjoyed it, let me know.<p> 


	18. Murder a Twinkie

Hey guys, here it is. I tried to load it yesterday but unfortunately the site wasn't working for me. Enjoy!

I own nothing.

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><p>Quinn pulled into the Berry driveway and turned towards the quiet brunette in the seat next to her.<p>

"Are you sure you don't want some company?" She asked while searching her friend's face.

"No thank you. I haven't been keeping up with my dance lessons over the past week and I feel that going to the studio for a few hours would be very beneficial for me right now. I'll call you later." Rachel said as she squeezed her hand. "Thank you Quinn."

Quinn just smiled in return and watched as Rachel left the car and walked into her house. Taking out her phone she shot a text out to the crew telling them to meet at her house in 20 minutes. Pulling back out of the driveway, Quinn turned on the radio station and hummed along to 'Back to Black'. When she arrived at her own home she turned off the car and grabbed her book bag before heading into the house. She smiled and greeted her mother who was sitting in the living room.

"Hey mom, I'm having a few friends over. Could you send them up to my room when they get here?" she asked before heading into the kitchen to grab a snack.

She decided on apples and Twinkies before grabbing four bottles of water and heading up to her room. She knew that Twinkies were Santana's go-to stress food and she knew that the Latina would need one (or five) after her confrontation with Puck. Shaking her head sadly, she laid the bounty out on her desk before shutting her door and collapsing on her bed in exhaustion. She couldn't begin to imagine how tired Rachel and Puck were if the whole thing had her this tired. She wasn't even directly involved! She looked up when she heard a timid knock on her door. Calling out to come in, the door cracked open and revealed Sam standing awkwardly on the other side. She smiled and he relaxed before heading into her room and joining her on the bed. He lay out next to her and seemed unsurprised when Quinn rolled over and placed her head on his chest.

"This week sucked." She muttered in explanation. "Have you slept a full night? Because I'm fairly sure that I haven't."

"It's been a hard week." He agreed as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Quinn just hummed in agreement and the two fell into a comfortable silence. They stayed like this until Santana and Blaine came up. The four of them sat up on the corners of the bed and ate the snacks that Quinn had grabbed and placed in the middle. Santana grabbed a Twinkie and hummed appreciatively. The others laughed as she moaned through a mouthful of cake.

"I was just thinking that I could really murder a fucking Twinkie." She muttered after she had swallowed a second treat.

Quinn smiled as she grabbed one of her own. The four friends just sat in companionable silence as they snacked just enjoying the peace.

"You talked to Puck?" Sam questioned after the food was gone.

Santana grumbled in Spanish before taking a swig of her water and turning to face the group.

"It didn't go well. We just sort of hung out for an hour and it was kind of nice. Then I told him about Finn dumping Rachel and he tried to leave. I mentioned that she knows now and he sort of froze and I ended up yelling at him to just do something." She shook her head sadly instead of continuing.

The other three shared a glance before turning back to Santana.

"What did he say San?" Quinn asked softly.

"That it was too late," Santana paused before lifting her chin. "I don't believe him though. He stopped walking away when I told him that she knew how he felt. He was also in the auditorium the other day when Berry sang"

"Did he tell you that?" Blaine asked in some surprise.

"No I saw him run out right after she finished performing. I heard him booking it down the hallway trying to get the hell out of there before anyone came after him. It isn't too late, he just thinks it is. He's the most stubborn pain in the ass." She said tiredly.

"So what you're saying is that we can't tell him how he feels?" Sam asked.

"Nope, he's more likely to keep pushing her and us away if we do. We need another tactic." Blaine answered for Santana.

"We could lock the two of them together in a supply closet?" Sam half-joked.

"Not a chance. He's more likely to make her cry and then break something trying to get away from her. We need a plan that prevents further damage. Just because Rachel understands why he's being a dick doesn't mean we should give him more opportunity." Quinn said thoughtfully.

"She's blaming herself for the whole thing," Blaine filled the silence as he dragged a hand over his face. "She told me today that she was grateful that we've been there for her but that we should be spending our time with Puck. She said that she doesn't deserve to be taken care of because it's all her fault."

"Great. So not only do we need a plan but we have to keep the two of them away from each other while bringing them back together?" Sam asked.

The other three nodded in agreement.

"Well that shouldn't be too hard." Blaine snorted sarcastically.

"I told all of you to have something for us to work with. I'll cut anyone who doesn't have any suggestions." Santana threatened half-heartedly.

"I was going to say that we should show him the video of her singing. But if he was there then there's no point." Sam muttered.

"We could set up a slushy attack in front of him?" Quinn mentioned without a lot of conviction.

"No. For two reasons." Santana answered. "One, he's never going to be in the same place as she is. Period. And two –"

"He already tossed a slushy at her, he's not going to step in and stop it. He might destroy the guys later under the pretence of something else, but he won't defend her publicly." Blaine finished.

"Did you guys see the parts about Puck in Jacob's blog today? He mentioned Rachel to Puck and he got a reaction. Maybe we can use his blog somehow. Santana literally made him piss his pants today, I'm sure he'd do anything she told him to." Sam said excitedly.

"Hmmm not bad Trouty mouth." Santana said thoughtfully.

"Not bad, but I have a better idea." Blaine said with a grin.

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><p>Let me know what you think. Thanks!<p> 


	19. Violent and Beautiful Movements

Hey guys, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

The songs Rachel dances to are:

**Apologies by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals**

**Dancing by Elisa**

**Diary of Jane by Breaking Benjamin.**

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><p>Rachel stepped into the private studio and closed the door behind her. Flicking on the lights she placed her bag on a bench and took off her jacket. Grabbing a stool, she placed it in the corner of the room. She placed the video camera that she had borrowed on top of the stool and pointed it towards the center of the room. Santana had convinced her to include the video of 'We are Broken' in her application to NYADA. She had said that the rawness of the performance would top anything else that she could send in. Figuring that the same principle might apply in this situation she decided to film her raw movements as well. She knew that there was nothing she could do to fix her current situation for now; so after a week and a half of wallowing she decided to prepare for her future instead.<p>

Rachel sat on the floor and began stretching. After a few minutes she headed back over to her bag and grabbed her IPod and dock. She set them up next to the video recorder before choosing her playlist. She inhaled deeply before she turned on the music and pressed the record button.

She walked back to the center of the room in her bare feet and closed her eyes as the music took her over.

**Yesterday he said my eyes  
>Were fading fast away<strong>

She began to move unconsciously with her eyes remaining closed. Swaying her hips and working her arms over her head. She allowed the music to carry her around the room without any thought of technique or posture.

**Oh he said it's crazy  
>How love stays with me<br>You know it hurts me  
>Cause I don't wanna fight this war<strong>

She had always loved contemporary dancing. Structure had a place and she enjoyed ballet, but there was something so completely freeing about just letting the music move you. Opening her eyes unseeingly she sunk down to her knees and lay down on her back. Kicking a leg up, she twisted to land on her stomach before pushing off strongly back onto her feet.

**Yesterday he looked at me  
>With a tear in his eye and said<br>I'll always tell you you're my friend  
>I hope I don't have to lie<br>Cause it's clear you love another man  
>I said you're damn right<strong>

Rachel's body continued to move without conscious effort into the next song.

**Time is gonna take my mind  
>and carry it far away where I can fly<br>The depth of life will dim the temptation to live for you**

The emotional tone of this song burdened Rachel's movements a bit more than the last. Dancing around with a heavier heart.

**So I put my arms around you around you  
>And I know that I'll be leaving soon<strong>

Rachel threw herself into the air and landed gracefully on the floor. She swayed on the floor as tears streamed freely and unnoticed. Moving slowly to her feet she ran around in circles as if searching for direction.

**Oh could burst it if it were a bubble  
>And I'd better dream if I have to struggle<strong>

She hopped in the air and pointed the toes of one foot straight in the air before throwing some ballet into the mix.

**My eyes are on you they're on you  
>they're on you<strong>

Rachel's eyes closed as she pictured Noah's face watching her dance through the window. She danced towards his image as if he would be there to catch her.

**My eyes**

Rachel stilled her movements and struggled to catch her breath as she tried to sear the image of Noah's pained expression from her mind. The music changed and she breathed a sigh of relief at the change of tempo and let the music take her once more. Her hands began to move skywards as her body screamed for movement.

**If I had to  
>I would put myself right beside you<br>So let me ask  
>Would you like that?<br>Would you like that?**

Running blindly Rachel threw herself into the air and spun before catching herself against a wall.

**And I don't mind  
>If you say this love is the last time<br>So now I'll ask  
>Do you like that?<br>Do you like that?**

She lost herself completely in the violent movements that the music caused. Her ballet teacher would have had a stroke.

**Something's getting in the way.  
>Something's just about to break.<br>I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane.  
>So tell me how it should be.<strong>

Rachel came back to attention for a moment as she landed hard on her knees. Shaking her head against the pain she screwed her eyes shut once more and let the music flow through her.

**Try to find out what makes you tick.  
>As I lie down<br>Sore and sick.  
>Do you like that?<br>Do you like that?**

Rachel threw herself into a spin then dragged her feet across the floor. Opening her eyes she regarding herself in the full-length mirrors for the first time since she had turned on the music.

**Something's getting in the way.  
>Something's just about to break.<br>I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane.  
>As I burn another page,<br>As I look the other way.  
>I still try to find my place in the diary of Jane.<br>So tell me how it should be**

She watched with some amazement as she landed a back-flip before throwing in some moves on the floor that would've made Michael proud. Her body was completely out of her control and she just watched with amazement.

**Desperate, I will crawl  
>Waiting for so long<br>No love, there is no love.  
>Die for anyone<br>What have I become?**

She studied her face as her body continued to move smoothly and furiously. She wondered if she had looked so broken this whole time. Her face looked tired and her eyes showed a sadness that consumed. She glared at her reflection as her movements became more erratic and strangely beautiful.

**Something's getting in the way.  
>Something's just about to break.<br>I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane.  
>As I burn another page,<br>As I look the other way.  
>I still try to find my place in the diary of Jane<strong>.

She had never felt more alive and she was exhilarated as she threw her body this way and that. Her training kept her from any harm as she always landed gracefully. Through the last chorus she gave it her all. She threw everything that she had into her movements. As the last words rang out in the room she found herself kicking and punching at an invisible opponent before ending on her knees looking at herself in the mirror.

The opening chords of another song began and she just knelt and listened. Her breathing began to stabilize and she stood slowly. Walking over to the stool she stopped the recording but waited until the end of the song to turn off her IPod.

Rachel put her things in her bag and decided against putting her jacket back over her sports bra and tight shorts. It was winter and possibly snowing but she was completely drenched in sweat. She almost smiled to herself as she realised that she felt a little better. Closing the door behind her she was about to walk out when she noticed something that caused her to freeze on the spot.

"Noahhhhhh! Let go of meee! You were watching her dance, does that mean that you're not sad anymore?" Sara Puckerman asked her older brother as he dragged her forcibly out the door.

Rachel stood in shock and stepped back when he looked over his shoulder at her. She couldn't read the emotion in his eyes that quickly replaced the surprise at seeing her standing there. He turned around and headed to his truck before she had the chance to do anything but stare back. Sniffling slightly, Rachel did her best to hold on to the high she had gotten while dancing. The heat left her quickly and she shoved her arms into her jacket as she tried to catch her breath. She walked out the door with her head down and headed home. She didn't notice the red truck still sitting in the parking lot, or the sad hazel eyes that followed after her.

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><p><strong>There it is. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It felt really important to me. Let me know what you think!<strong>


	20. My people

**Hey guys so I realised last night that I made a little mistake. I mentioned that Rachel had receieved her finalist letter in the third chapter and then that she was using the performance footage for NYADA. So for the sake of the story let's just pretend that since she's a finalist they asked her to send in more stuff? Enjoy, this chapter is a little more fluffy than anything, but next chapter will be huge.**

**I own nothing.**

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><p>Rachel was walking home from the dance studio and realised that she should have changed out of her shorts before she left. She had forgotten that she had left her car at home when she had opted to walk to the studio earlier. Seeing Noah with his sister had thrown her off and she had just left the studio without thinking about the cold winter air.<p>

"_Noahhhhhh! Let go of meee! You were watching her dance, does that mean that you're not sad anymore?" Sara Puckerman asked her older brother as he dragged her forcibly out the door._

She had seen him while she was dancing. She had seen him watching but had chalked it up to her desperation to talk to him again. Her mind had told her that she was imagining him standing there. He was a mirage; a refreshing, life saving entity for her broken and desperate self. So she had closed her eyes and continued to dance. She had tried to forget the look in his eyes as he watched her dance because it hadn't been real. He hadn't been real.

Only he had been. She had heard Sara Puckerman confirm that he had in fact been there watching her dance. Tears began to pool in her eyes as she felt a new hole forming in her chest. She couldn't believe how much she missed him. She would have gone to his house, dropped to her knees and begged him to forgive her if she had thought it would work. But instinctively she knows that it won't. His hurt is so much bigger than she can comprehend despite the many hours she has spent trying to understand. His feelings for her are so much more complex than she could ever have guessed.

Rachel blinked her eyes against the sudden blinding light of headlights. Raising her arm to block some of the light she realises that an old truck has pulled over in front of her. Her heart starts to beat quickly as her mind plays more games. Maybe he missed her enough to-

"Do you need a ride Rach? It isn't really safe for you to be walking around at night...especially dressed like that." Sam asks, hopping out of his idling truck.

She tries not to sigh out loud as she realises that it was stupid to assume that the truck belonged to Noah. The closer she looks she notices that the truck isn't red at all. She just nods gratefully because she doesn't trust her mouth. They both climb into the truck and Sam turns to look at her sadly.

"Thought I was him huh?" He reaches for her hand and squeezes it as he pulls back onto the road.

"Am I that obvious?" she mumbled thickly.

"Not really. He and I both have piece of crap trucks. And usually you smile when you see me. Rach you really shouldn't be walking around dressed like that at night. Especially with it being winter." He said quietly.

"I know, I wasn't thinking. It's just that I ran into Noah and his sister and it threw me off so I left quickly." She answered quickly.

"You saw Puck? Did he say anything?" He asked hopefully.

"No, we didn't talk. I had just finished dancing and I saw him dragging his sister out to the car. She said that he had been watching me dance and wanted to know if it meant that he wasn't-" she trailed off as tears started to blur her vision.

Sam just pulled up in front of her house and continued to hold her hand as she choked back the tears and tried to finish.

"Sh-she asked if it meant that he wasn't sad anymore!" She spat out the words.

"Rach, I don't know what to say."

"Do you think that they all hate me now? I love Sara and Hannah! I d-dont want them to h-hate me too Sam!" She wailed before she threw herself into his arms.

"Rach, Hannah adores you and I can promise that neither one of them hate you. We're going to fix this. We have a plan and it's going to work okay? You just need to focus on getting through the next few days without him. I promise you that it won't take much longer. He loves you too much to let you go forever Rach." Sam promised as he ran his hand over her hair soothingly.

"What plan?" Rachel asked curiously.

"I can't tell you," he paused to hold up a hand when Rachel began to protest. "You can't know because it won't work if you do. But I promise it will work."

"He watched me dance, that's got to mean that he still cares doesn't it?" Rachel asked hopefully.

Sam moved his arms from around her and shot her a grin.

"It's great news Rach." He replied excitedly.

"Who came up with this plan?" Rachel asked with her eyebrows raised in concern.

"Blaine."

She smiled and relaxed a little bit. She made a move to leave the car before turning back to him thoughtfully.

"Would you like to come in and watch a movie with me? We could invite Quinn if you'd like?" Her smile turning wicked when she saw his blush.

"That sounds like fun Rach." He said as he turned his red face away from her.

Rachel laughed and Sam's blush faded as he followed her into the house. He genuinely missed hearing his friend laugh all the time. He sat on the couch and listened to her conversation with Quinn on the phone.

Ten minutes later Quinn, Santana and Blaine were walking through the front door.

"Come on B, you thought you could just hang with some of us? Pfft move over bitch, I wants to get my cuddles on." Santana said as she pushed Sam off the couch and threw an arm around Rachel's shoulders.

Rachel just laughed and asked if Sam was alright as Quinn helped him off of the floor. Blaine walked into the room and sat on Rachel's other side. Sam and Quinn sat on the loveseat a little awkwardly as the other three did their best not to laugh.

"What would you guys like to watch?" Rachel asked quickly to diffuse the awkwardness of Quam.

"We could watch Av-"

"If you say Avatar I'ma glue your lips shut Trouty." Santana sneered as Sam pouted jokingly.

Rachel laughed loudly and then covered her mouth in surprise.

"Sorry Sammy. I didn't mean to laugh. I think you have great lips!" Rachel said quickly with an apologetic look.

"So does Quinn." Blaine said with a high-five to Santana.

Everyone laughed this time including the two blushing blondes.

Four hours later Rachel opened her eyes and glanced around the room. Sam and Quinn were wrapped around each other fast asleep on the love seat. Rachel's head was resting on Santana's shoulder as the girl snored lightly. Looking down she noticed that Blaine's head was resting under her hands in her lap. Grabbing the remote control from it's place on his chest she turned off the closing credits to Singin' in the Rain. Settling in for the night she smiled as she realised that these were her people. They were her family. She just needed to get Noah back and life would be perfect.

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><p><strong>I felt the need to have a little bit of light. The next chapter is huge I promise. Let me know what you think.<strong>


	21. Startling Revelations

Here's the next chapter and it's a big one. Enjoy!

I own nothing.

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><p>Rachel woke up to the smell of pancakes the next morning. Stretching her arms up over her head she opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. She didn't remember falling asleep last night and judging by the look on Quinn's face she had forgotten to let her mom know that she was staying over for the night.<p>

"Oh my gosh, my mom is going to kill me!" Quinn yelled, waking the others.

The others all stirred from their sleep and Blaine's eyes as he realised that he too had forgotten.

"Shit." Santana and Blaine muttered.

Rachel's daddy walked into the living room and smiled at the teens.

"Hey kids, we made breakfast for you." Taking in the look of panic on their faces he smiled. "Hiram and I noticed that you had all fallen asleep last night and couldn't stand to wake you all. The last week has been hard on everyone." He smiled sadly when he saw how surprised Rachel was that they had noticed. "Yes Rachel we're aware, you're a horrible liar. Don't worry kids, we called all of your parents last night."

Rachel's friends all breathed in relief and focused on Rachel who was staring at her daddy in surprise.

"How did you know?" Rachel asked.

"Princess you've been moping around for almost two weeks." The smile slid from his face. "Hannah called us last week."

Rachel gasped in horror and her friends chose the moment to escape into the kitchen for breakfast.

"What did she say?" Rachel asked in a small voice.

Leroy sat on the couch and patted the spot next to him. Sighing nervously she sat next to him and turned to face him after a moment.

"Noah came home one day smelling of liquor and he was horribly hungover. The two of them argued but he wouldn't tell her what was wrong." He stared into his daughter's eyes hard. "Sara piped up and told Hannah that her friend had told her that you were engaged to Finn."

Rachel felt tears pooling in her eyes.

"Sara told her?" Rachel asked not knowing what else to say.

"Hannah asked Noah to confirm and he asked her to not call him Noah anymore. Hannah said that Noah hasn't spoken to either of them since."

Rachel just waited for him to continue.

"What were you thinking Rachel?" His anger was just barely contained.

"I wasn't." She answered through her tears.

"Did you plan on telling us about the engagement? Did Finn even think about asking for our consent? You would need our permission because you're both 17 Rachel. Not to mention the fact that it's common courtesy to ask the parents first." He continued and she could hear the anger now.

"I'm sorry daddy. It happened so quickly and Finn had a lot going on and I couldn't say no. I regretted saying yes the moment that Finn announced it." She cried.

"Do you plan on marrying him? Have you thought about how this will affect your future? Because the last time I checked Finn was planning on taking over Burt's shop here and you were going to New York."

Rachel looked up at her daddy and realised just how disappointed he was.

"We're not together anymore. He broke up with me the other night," She wiped her eyes. "He found out how upset I've been about Noah not wanting to know me anymore. He said that I was more upset about it than anytime he had broken up with me and said he didn't want to hurt me. He said that he knew that Noah would hate me when he proposed but that he didn't think I'd care."

"Honey if Finn thought for even a moment that you wouldn't miss Noah then he doesn't know you at all. Certainly not enough to be marrying you." Her dad said as he pulled her into his arms.

"He said that he loved me too much to break my heart too," She paused for a few moments. "Daddy, Finn thinks that Noah's in love with me."

Her daddy's arms tightened around her in reflex.

"And what do you think?" He asked finally.

"I-I think that he's been the most important person to me for the majority of the last ten years. I think that I mean a lot to him and maybe at some point his feelings for me stopped being strictly platonic."

"Rachel, what do you really think?" Her daddy asked again.

She strained her ears to hear her Father laughing with her friends in the kitchen. She took a moment to sort her thoughts before trying again.

"I think that Noah has been in love with me since we were children." She breathed out.

Her daddy smiled down at her and kissed her forehead.

"And how do you feel about that Sweetpea?" He asked kindly.

"I am frustrated that I have been overlooking his affections for the last few years. I'm upset that having these feelings for me means that most of my actions since freshman year have hurt him in some way. I feel sick about the fact that I used him countless times to get back at Finn or make him jealous and that I completely misunderstood his willingness to do so. I hate myself for breaking his heart by making a rash decision. I wish that I had at the very least told him before everyone else because it made him think he isn't important to me, but I was a coward and it just added to the hurt. I hate that he knows Finn and I are over but he still won't talk to me." She cried through her tears.

"Anything else?" Her daddy prodded.

"I just really miss him. I've been blinded by my need to keep Finn's attention for the past three years but Noah never stopped being important. Those two years where we stopped talking were horrible but they were nothing compared to this. Noah is a part of my life and even when he slushied me daily he was still a part of my life. But he won't look at me and I don't know how to fix this. I love him so much and I don't want him to not be a part of my life." Rachel raised her voice as she continued. "He's always been there in every dream I've had of my future. He's in my first New York apartment making fun of my rabbit food. He's walking me to my classes and he's there after every audition. He's sitting in the front row on the opening night of my first Broadway play. Noah's standing waiting for me as you walk me down the aisle and in the delivery room when our first child is-" Rachel begins to legitimately panic as she hears herself describe the last two dreams. "Oh My God."

Santana, Quinn, Sam and Hiram run into the living room as they here Rachel's loud rant turn into desperate gasps for air. The four of them had been talking when her words had filled the house. The four of them had been staring at each other with wide eyes as she had mentioned marrying and having children with Puck. Hiram quickly runs into the kitchen and comes back with a paper bag. Handing it to Rachel he kneels in front of her and tells her to breathe into the bag until she's calmed down. Hiram and Leroy hold hands are they grasp one of hers.

Santana walked over and sat beside Rachel and rubbed her back slowly. The others walked over slowly and sat on the other couch as Rachel's breathing slowed and her tears fell freely.

"It's okay sweetheart. We're all here." Hiram and Leroy said.

Rachel just closed her eyes.

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><p>What do you think?<p> 


	22. Weird Al and HotLips

Sorry about the late update, I was having a hard time trying to figure out how to make what I wanted happen. I was also the tiniest bit discouraged by a few PMs about the story so it took a few days to even want to continue the story. I have however figured out how to make it happen and the next chapter will be the most important yet. This one is a little bit lighter and you get to see some Sam and Puck. By the way, how funny are Rachel's dads? Enjoy!

I own nothing.

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><p>Blaine flicked on the radio to interrupt the uncomfortable silence that had filled his car on the way to school. Rachel had calmed down quickly and the teens had all traded off showers while she ate her breakfast. They had dropped Santana off at her house on the way so that she could grab a fresh Cheerios uniform and her car. No one had said a word about what had happened since. He glanced in the mirror and noticed that Rachel seemed lighter. She looked tired and not exactly happy, but she looked a bit better. The aching pain that had been present in her eyes had lessened considerably. He breathed a sigh of relief as he realised that her little epiphany wasn't having any negative effects. He shared a glance with Quinn who was sitting beside her. She and Sam seemed to be feeling some relief as well. He shot a grin at Sam before turning the radio off and opening his mouth.<p>

**They see me mowin'  
>My front lawn<br>I know they're all thinking  
>I'm so White N' nerdy<strong>

Rachel looked up in surprise as she tried to recognize the song.

**Think I'm just too white n' nerdy  
>Think I'm just too white n' nerdy<br>Can't you see I'm white n' nerdy  
>Look at me I'm white n' nerdy!<br>I wanna roll with-  
>The gangsters<strong>

Rachel actually snorted in laughter when Sam joined in.

**But so far they all think  
>I'm too white n' nerdy<br>Think I'm just too white n' nerdy  
>Think I'm just too white n' nerdy<br>I'm just too white n' nerdy  
>Really, really white n' nerdy<strong>

Quinn quickly jumped in as Rachel laughed at the very strange song. They finished it off as he parked his car in the parking lot. The friends spilled out of the car with tears of laughter blurring their vision. Blaine wrapped an arm around Rachel's shoulders as she continued to laugh.

"I have to say Blaine; I can't imagine that Kurt would enjoy that song very much." Rachel said as she wiped her eyes.

Blaine laughed in response as they followed the others into the building. He dropped a kiss to her forehead before following Quinn towards their lockers. Rachel smiled as Sam took Blaine's spot next to her with his arm slung around her shoulder. The two walked to her locker in companionable silence. He leaned against the lockers and looked around the hall as Rachel grabbed her books.

"Thank you for not asking about my little breakdown this morning." Rachel said as she slipped her free hand into Sam's.

"Rach, it's not a big deal. Don't worry about it." He replied as he squeezed her hand gently.

"You obviously heard what I said to my daddy?" She asked him.

"Yeah, well, you got kind of loud at the end. We were talking but then you were yelling and we may have heard some of the end stuff. Sorry."

Rachel just shook her head at him before closing her locker.

"I don't mind you knowing. It wouldn't surprise me if the only person who hadn't fully accepted my feelings about Noah was myself. For someone with such superior intellectual abilities I can be rather dim sometimes." Rachel smiled amusedly.

The two of them walked towards her classroom in silence for a few moments.

"Are you okay? I mean it's a big thing to realise and you didn't have any privacy to like think it over."

"Yes, while the whole thing has been rather distressing; I'm glad to say that I feel some relief. Things between Noah and I are without a doubt still very much a mess. But I feel like we're one step closer to repairing our relationship now that I am in touch with how I really feel about him. I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm in love with him but I can't imagine my future without him. My dreams won't feel fulfilled if he isn't there to share them with me." Rachel answered thoughtfully.

"Well we're here if you need us Rach. I'll see you later okay? I have free period." Sam hugged her quickly before she walked into her classroom.

He walked down the hall and out of the school, heading across the street and into the 711. He grabbed two large blue slushies and a package of hot lips candies. He was halfway back to the school as he heard the first period bell ring. Instead of heading back into the building Sam walked towards the football field. He saw Puck sitting on the bleachers all by himself and smiled. He would have felt like an idiot for buying this stuff if he hadn't been there. He walked up the stairs towards Puck and almost smiled when the boy stiffened at the sight of the slushies. Sam sat down next to Puck and wordlessly passed the suspicious teen a slushy and a straw. Puck took the slushy from him and stared out at the field in silence as he tasted it nervously. Sam laughed when he realised that the boy was worried it had been tampered with.

"It hasn't been poisoned of pissed in if that's what you're worried about." Sam said as he tried to stifle his laughter.

Puck shrugged his shoulders in response and began drinking the cold beverage. The two boys just sat in silence as they looked out on the football field. Sam hadn't seen him since their almost fight earlier that week. Close up he looked like shit. He'd clearly slept even less than Rachel and it was showing. He'd bet good money on the fact that he'd been drinking himself sick every other day too. Leaning back against the bleacher behind him he sighed tiredly. Puck mirrored his movements.

"You look like shit Puck." Sam eventually said breaking the ice.

Puck just snorted in amusement and muttered 'no shit' under his breath. Sam shook his head and reached into his pocket as he watched Puck. He tossed the candy at his friend who caught it reflexively. He sat back and watched as Puck read the label on the package with some confusion.

"Hot lips." Puck mouthed before barking in laughter.

Sam joined in laughing as Puck's chuckle deepened. He turned towards Sam and punched his shoulder in amusement. After a few moments their laughter faded and they settled in more comfortably. The self-deprecating gift had caused Puck to laugh for probably the first time since everything had gone down. Sam hoped that his apology had been implied but decided to clarify.

"Listen dude, I'm like a total asshole. What you did to her was fucking horrible but I shouldn't have said the things I did." Sam started and Puck waved a hand in dismissal. Shaking his head Sam continued anyways.

"I was a dick and I shouldn't have been. I'm not sorry for defending her, but I haven't talked to you since and that was like super bitchy of me." Sam finished only to be waved off by Puck again.

"You may as well take your apologies where you can get 'em Man. I promise you that Blaine isn't sorry for hitting you." Sam said as his gaze brushed over Puck's black eye.

"Deserved it." Puck muttered quietly before taking a long pull of his slushy.

Sam desperately wanted to ask him about Rachel but decided to leave it alone for now. Well he wouldn't interfere too much. Who the fuck was he kidding?

"She misses you ya know." Sam said and Puck stiffened. Sam just shook his head. "Don't do that. We both know you miss her too. I just wanted to make sure you knew that she cares about you too. I'm not going to sit here and beg you to fix things because I get that you just can't right now. Just remember that she cares about you, before you lose yourself completely."

The bell rang and Sam stood up as Puck stayed seated.

"I know you think that she's gone, but she's not. She finally gets what this is all about and she hasn't gone anywhere. She's still right there waiting for you. Just think about it." Sam said confidently before clapping a hand on Puck's shoulder.

Sam dropped his hand and turned to walk away from his friend. He turned around to look back as he headed around the corner. Puck was still sitting there on the bleachers, now with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

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><p>There it is, I hope you liked it. I promise the chapter tomorrow is like twice as long and super epic. Let me know what you think please!<p> 


	23. Blogs and Stop signs

**Hey guys, sorry for the late update. I was literally updating the chapter when the site went down last night. I promise it's worth it though. I adore this chapter and I hope you all like it as well. Enjoy!**

**I own nothing.**

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><p>Santana was sitting at a table with Quinn in the lunch room when Sam walked up. She grinned when she noticed the way that the two blondes lit up as they exchanged greetings. It looked like Rachel was right about Quam 2.0. She was not stoked about losing $20 to the smart little midget.<p>

"Hey Sammy, my morning was great too. Thanks for asking." Santana scoffed as the boy blushed. "It's okay as long as I'm still your favourite ex."

"Deal." Sam said quickly in an attempt to end the teasing.

"Where are my favourite hobbits?" Santana asked scanning the lunch room.

Lunch had started ten minutes ago and neither had made an appearance yet. She seriously hoped Rachel hadn't like hyperventilated in the middle of class or something. That shit was scary this morning.

"Blaine decided to take her out for lunch I guess. He said something about needing a change of scenery. I think they were going to conference call Kurt or something." Sam answered with a shrug.

Santana was a little irritated that they hadn't invited anyone else. Although the five of them had been spending enough time together that Jewfro had written a blog about them forming a ménage a cinq. She laughed as she remembered the blog entry. She wondered if the other two had read it yet. Pulling out her cell phone she quickly found the link.

"Have you guys read the shit that Jewfro wrote about our little group of love?" Santana asked the lovebirds.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked as Quinn shook her head curiously.

"Listen to this."

**Good Morning McKinley!**

**I have an update on the end of Finchel. Now many of you have probably assumed that it had something to do with one of them cheating on the other with one of their friends. I can now tell you without a doubt that you are correct! **

**But you will never believe the extent that the cheating occurred. The Glee club has always been an inbred group. Most people would claim that they inter-date because they have no other options outside of Glee. Others might point out that it's simply because they're a bunch of freaks. Whatever the reason the sordid dating history of the club has always been a hot topic amongst the rest of the McKinley population. **

**When asked for comment Coach Sylvester said "I hope that their immoral interbreeding forms a new STD that eradicates them from the face of the Earth." **

**The latest scandal to grace the Glee club is simply too hot to handle. Many of you may have noticed a group of five that have been wandering the halls in various states of PDA since the breakup of Finn Hudson (Ex-boyfriend of Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray, Ex-virgin at the hands of Santana Lopez, All around idiot) and Rachel Berry (Ex-Girlfriend of Noah Puck Puckerman, Finn Hudson and Jesse St. James, and my future wife). This morning you may have noticed Blaine Anderson (Boyfriend of Kurt Hummel who is the brother of Finn Hudson) cozying up to Rachel before school. Others may have noticed Sam Evans (Ex-Boyfriend of Quinn Fabray, Santana Lopez and Mercedes Jones) holding her hand as he walked her to class. You may have seen Quinn Fabray (Ex-Girlfriend of Finn Hudson and Sam Evans and Ex-Baby-Mama of Noah 'Puck" Puckerman, Ex-psycho bitch) staring longingly at Sam Evans while he wasn't looking. Many have seen any of the four friends kissing the lovely Rachel Berry over the last week. Santana Lopez (Ex-Girlfriend of Puck and Sam Evans, Current girlfriend of Brittany Pierce. Ex sex buddy of anyone with any downstairs plumbing) has palled up with Rachel Berry and I guarantee everyone has pictured the two of them rolling around in bed together. I have.**

**Over the last week the five 'friends' have been seen in various couplings all around town. I have a trusted inside source that tells me that the five of them have been engaging in a romantic ménage a cinq. I can't explain how it works or when it began but it's happening people. My source tells me that Rachel broke up with The Jolly Green Giant so that she could be faithful to her two girlfriends and two boyfriends. **

**The question now is whether Santana will break up with Brittany (Ex-Girlfriend of Artie Abrams, Experimental sex buddy of Kurt Hummel and former sex buddy of anything with two legs.) and if Blaine Anderson will break up with Kurt Hummel (Total virgin) to show the same kind of dedication to their orgy. **

**I wonder how Finn, Brittany and Kurt will feel about this betrayal. **

**I leave you all to imagine their various couplings in the privacy of your own homes. Enjoy the scandal McKinley. I sure will.**

"Oh my God. He is so creepy!" Quinn squeaked in disgust.

Sam's shoulders were shaking in laughter as Santana finished reading the story. Santana looked up and around them once more and glared at the onlookers.

"Do you see how many of these losers are staring at us? They actually believe this shit." Santana snarled in irritation.

"Don't worry I doubt Brittany will be worried about it and I know that Kurt will love this. Can you forward it to him?" Sam said as he continued to laugh.

"I've never really thought about how much we interdate. He didn't even get into Chang-squared or all of Puck's conquests." Quinn said with a wrinkled nose in disgust.

"Yeah, we're pretty fucking gross. Ah well this little article will make Berry laugh so that's something." Santana replied.

Sam was telling them about his morning meeting with Puck when Santana's phone started ringing. Checking the display, she quickly answered.

"Hobbit, thanks for inviting us to lunch with you and Berry. Seriously, you missed the funniest thing ev-"

"Santana I-" Blaine cut her off before she cut him off in turn.

"Seriously, you know this cafeteria only serves shit for meals. Anyways Jewfro wrote the funniest –"

"San."

"-Blog about how the five of us are fuc-"

"Satan! Fucking listen to me!" Blaine yelled over her.

"Wow, calm down Potter, I was just joking." Santana huffed in irritation.

"I'm sorry I'm just freaking out right now."

Santana noted his tone and realised that something was wrong.

"What's going on Blaine? Is something wrong with Berry? She freaked out during lunch again didn't she?" Santana rambled.

Sam and Quinn had stopped talking and were asking her what was wrong. Santana shook her head and waved her hands at them to stop talking.

"San, we were driving to the Lima Bean and we got into an accident." Blaine said quietly.

"Ha ha very funny. This is part of the plan right? She 'gets hurt' and Puck snaps the fuck out of it." Santana laughed.

"San. I'm not joking." Blaine answered angrily.

"What the fuck are you talking about Anderson?" Santana yelled.

The noise in the lunch room faded away as all eyes were on her as she yelled into her phone. Sam and Quinn looked like they were about to panic. She'd forgotten how loud her phone could be, the two of them could clearly hear both sides of this conversation.

"We were driving and she was laughing and I hit a patch of black ice as I tried to stop. We slid past the stop sign and into the intersection. The guy wasn't looking and it was a two way so he didn't have to stop. He smacked into Rachel's side of the car really hard and we spun into a pole." Blaine rambled worriedly.

Santana sat in silence as his words washed over her. He had to be joking. This was the plan after all right? There was no way this shit was actually happening. She waited for a few moments for him to start laughing. She could hear his uneven breathing and what sounded like pacing. Shit.

"Where are you?" She asked in a monotone.

"We're at the hospital. Her side of the car had the most damage. The ambulance brought us here coz my car is totalled." He answered quickly.

"Rachel?"

"There was a lot of blood San. They haven't let me see her. You guys need to get here like 10 minutes ago. I know this was the plan but it's not just the plan anymore San. She's actually fucking hurt! You guys need to get here. I already called her dads."

"Puck?"

"It's up to you San, but if she isn't okay...well we all know he won't be either. I gotta go. The doctors say I need stitches. I'm gonna be okay, so don't worry about me. Just get here Lopez."

She heard him disconnect the call and she sat numbly for a few moments. She was startled by a scared Quinn shaking her arm.

"San, what's going on?" she whispered fearfully as Sam held her hand.

"They got in an accident. A real accident. Shit, she's not okay. Blaine said there was a lot of blood." Santana said tightly.

"But, she wasn't actually supposed to be hurt. I don't understand." Quinn mumbled quietly.

The three of them stared at each other in horror before Sam jumped to his feet.

"What are we waiting for? We have to go." The girls nodded and stood up as well.

"Quinn, you have to find Puck and tell him. He needs to know. Me and Sam will go grab my car and meet you out front?" Santana said decidedly.

"He should be at his locker." Sam told her quickly before dropping a kiss to her temple and sprinting after Santana.

Quinn looked around hopelessly for a moment and realised that everyone was staring at her. She felt the tears pooling in her eyes as she ran out of the cafeteria in search of Puck. The worry began to tear her apart and the tears fell as she bolted through the hallways and pushed through all of the other students. She rounded the corner and felt a sob break loose as she caught sight of Puck leaning against his locker. His eyes widened when he saw her running towards him and he instinctively caught her as she threw herself at him. She didn't notice that his arms tightened around her as she sobbed into his chest. After a moment of freaking out and causing a scene she remembered that the others were waiting for her. Pulling back she looked up at him and was so relieved to see concern in his eyes.

"Q what the fuck?" He asked after glaring at the gathered crowd.

"We have to go. Got to get to the h-h-hospital! C-come on p-please!" Quinn said as she left his arms to try and tug him towards the doors. She stomped her foot when he didn't move.

"Why?" He asked curiously as he watched her freaking the fuck out.

"Blaine and R-rachel went out for lunch. And h-he called a few m-minutes ago. T-they got h-hit b-by a carrr!" She wailed and his eyes clouded with concern.

"H-he said that there was a lot of b-bloood. We have to g-go Puck! P-please!" She yelled through her tears as she continued to tug on his hand.

He had gone completely still and his eyes were far away. She slapped his cheek gently and when his gaze returned to hers she saw only panic and and agonizing regret. He gripped her hand and suddenly he was sprinting towards the front doors yanking her behind him. They broke through the front doors and ran to the waiting car at the bottom of the steps. Puck threw himself into the back seat where Sam was sitting and Quinn jumped in the front seat. Santana gunned the accelerator as soon as their doors were closed. She noticed vaguely that Sam and Santana were both crying as well. They were halfway to the hospital when she chanced a glance back at Puck and noticed his white knuckles first. Looking up at his face she saw that tears were quickly escaping his closed eyes.

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><p><strong>So, there it is. I've been planning this chapter since day one and it finally came together in a way that I liked. Let me know what you think!<strong>


	24. 17 years of abandonment

Alright so I know it's been a few days but this chapter had to be perfect. It's basically everything up until this point through Puck's POV. So you can understand why it took some time. It's super long and I enjoyed writing it. **A caution to anyone with sensitive ears; There are like 50 (39) Fbombs in this chapter because it is Puck and he's in a very bad place.** I hope this chapter helps to clear up some of the Puck-hate because honestly he's as much a victim in this as Rachel, if not more so. Enjoy.

I own nothing.

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><p>Ignoring her the first day had been hard. He was still hung-over when she'd come up to him in the hallway and started blabbering on about his mother or something. It had become a bit easier when he realised that she had no fucking clue why he was upset. He was pretty pissed that she didn't understand what was going on. He'd never met anyone who was more wilfully clueless. The girl was sharp as a fucking knife and she ignored anything that she didn't want to know, no matter what the consequences were. So he had just walked away.<p>

He'd been ten feet from his classroom when he realised that she was in that class and that his seat was next to hers. So he'd walked in the opposite direction and went outside for a smoke before he returned. He hadn't smoked in over a year and one day without talking to her and he was already drinking and smoking. Fuck it was like trading one addiction for two others. He finally walked in late and had headed to the back of the room. His conscience had nagged at him when he'd pushed the skinny kid out of his chair. But the fact that his conscience sounded like _her_ made him angry enough to continue anyways. He'd instantly started flirting with the slutty chick next to him. He couldn't tell you if he had done it to get through the class or because he knew it shocked and angered _Rachel. _He'd seen the look that Santana had given him and he'd felt his resolve waiver for a moment, but then Leslie had slipped her hand in his front pocket. He'd seen the tension in _her_ shoulders and he'd kept up the act. If she wanted fucking Hudson then he'd get the fuck over it with the help of Lisa, er Leslie?

He'd spent the next two periods smoking under the bleachers trying to psych himself up for the rest of the day. Shit he could practically feel his lungs blackening. She had shown up during lunch just like he'd expected her to. He was trying to focus on the fact that Lilly had just begged him to fuck her in the supply closet when he _sensed_ her behind him. She cleared her throat to gain his attention so he had just stepped closer to Leila and hoped she'd go away. He fought the shudder that threatened to run through him when she tapped his shoulder. Why couldn't she just leave him alone? Didn't she understand that he just couldn't do this anymore? Why was it fair that she got to have her stupid prince and keep him waiting in the wings? Building off of the very real anger he felt towards her, he set his face to neutral and turned to face her.

She had just stared at him and he was so frustrated. He'd practically snarled at her because he just needed her to let him be. Yeah giving her up fucking sucked. But quitting anything cold turkey was hard right? Before he knew what he was saying he'd mentioned fucking the Cheeri-ho and had basically told her to screw off. He'd seen the unshed tears in her eyes and turned away before the waterworks started. He was so fucking mad at her for playing the victim. Where did she get off being upset with him? He'd been there for her forever and she just didn't see him. She'd been breaking his fucking heart for years and she didn't even care.

He had successfully avoided her for the rest of the day. He did his best not to murder Evans when he started pushing him after school. Dude needed to mind his own fucking business. He didn't know where everyone got off defending _her. _Fuck he was just trying to do what was best for both of them. She planned on spending her life with that stupid fucking moron and that meant that he was out of the picture. Period. Finn asking him for a brand of condoms? He was just making sure that Puck knew that he had won. He just wanted to rub his face in it some more. She chose Finn and fucking Finn had no interest in sharing.

"You're in love with her."

He instantly lost his resolve not to hit Evans and felt some relief when he felt his fist crunch into Sam's face. He wasn't even sure what he was yelling in his denial but he really wished that Sam would stop staring at him with wide eyes. Walking away from him, he decided that he was done with all of them. Fuck Glee.

He had spent the weekend getting drunk and calling up cougars. He was balls deep inside of Mrs. Jenkins when he realised that he wasn't enjoying himself. It had been over a year since he'd gone on a bender like this. Cougars just didn't do it for him anymore. He'd finished quickly and smirked at the woman before he sauntered out of the house. He made it home before the nausea overcame him. He spent the next few hours just puking in disgust.

Monday morning he'd shown up with a slight hangover and the resolve to fix things. He'd just walked around the corner with the intention of talking to Rachel when he saw it. That stupid, ugly, shiny fucking ring. She was still Finn's and that was all there was to it. He'd ducked into the nearest bathroom and emptied his stomach. Glaring at himself in the mirror he told himself to toughen the hell up. He'd lost her and Finn won; the end. Walking out of the bathroom he had grabbed the nearest Cheeri-ho and dragged her to a supply closet. He'd fucked her against the chemical shelf. He attended his next class and then spent his lunch period getting head from another girl in the locker room. Remembering that Glee was that day he had blown off the rest of school and taken the Cheeri-ho back to his place. He'd spent the rest of the afternoon in or on top of her. It wasn't until after she left that he reflected on the fact that her hair wasn't dark enough, her nose was too small. He also really hated it when she yelled "Puck" as she came.

He went through the next two days on autopilot. He didn't bother searching out new girls. He was pulled into a couple of janitor closets, but he was never really into it. He did his best to shut out the 'Noah' part of him and Puck fucked them instead. He was midway through his pre-bball practice locker routine when she approached him again. He didn't understand why she wouldn't just leave him alone. She had chosen Finn, so why couldn't she just leave him to deal with it? Where did get off breaking his heart and expecting him to still be her fucking bff? She had babbled about more bullshit and he ignored her for the most part. Only interrupting her to correct his name. He wasn't Noah anymore. Especially to her. He didn't want to be anything to her anymore. She did this so she could call him Puck like the rest of the fucking world. No more special treatment because she didn't fucking deserve him.

She wouldn't take the hint and just leave him alone. His temper was just barely contained and he was ready to just fucking scream at her. She was so damn selfish. She didn't get to have both of them forever. He couldn't do this anymore. He realised as he watched the slushy slide down her face that maybe his temper hadn't been controlled after all. He felt the tears start to pool in his own eyes as he saw her break. He slammed his locker and just ran. He had to get the hell out of there. He would not feel guilty for lashing out after what she had done to him. What she had done to them.

He had just made it to the locker room when Sam caught up with him. These people just needed to leave him alone. If he was angry enough to do _that _to Rachel of all people than did they really think he was in control of himself? The two of them squared off as Sam yelled a bunch of shit at him. He fixed a sneer on his face and just fought back. He tried not to wince as he insulted Rachel some more. At some point Satan showed up and got in the middle of them. He was worrying about what Satan was going to throw at him when he heard the words Lima Loser out of Sam's mouth and he saw fucking red. He was just trying not to get hurt anymore. He couldn't be the backup guy anymore, that didn't make him a Lima Loser. If anything he had been a Lima Loser for settling in as the backup until now. He watched as Sam and then Santana walked away from him. He'd already lost everything else, so it shouldn't hurt so much to see them walk away too.

Blaine jumping him when he walked into the locker room was just the icing on the fucking cake. His life here was officially not worth living anymore. He had all the motivation needed to get out of this fucking cow town and never look back. Beiste assigned him laps for getting his ass handed to him which was just awesome. He was on his third lap when he saw his 'friends' in the parking lot. He had lost everything in the last week and he was so fucking miserable. It was bad enough that he had to live without Rachel, but did everyone else seriously have to walk away from him too? He hadn't realised that he had stopped running until his eyes caught Quinn's. He turned away from her and kept running, ignoring the burning in his chest.

The next day passed in a blur until he saw Rachel collide with some guy in the hallway. She didn't even seem to notice that fact that she was almost knocked flat on her ass. The guilt about the day before was eating at him and it just fuelled the fury that was pumping through his veins. He was so pissed that he had to feel bad about everything. None of this was his fault! He quickly grabbed a passing Cheeri-ho and fused his lips to hers as Satan caught him staring at _her._ A few minutes later he received a text from Schue about practice that afternoon, despite having made it clear that he quit.

He spent the rest of the day in a haze just trying to survive. After school he found his feet following the familiar path to the auditorium despite his head and heart protesting. He decided to grab a seat in the back where it was dark, but then he saw _her_ and he froze in the doorway. Shit she looked unhappy.

The music started and he almost left. His heart was beating too quickly and his mind was screeching to leave. But he had never been able to walk away when the girl sang. He closed his eyes about halfway through the performance because he just couldn't look at her. He was so angry at her for feeling sorry for herself. And for her to sing _this _song of all songs just added insult to injury. He had first introduced her to Paramore the day after Shelby took Beth from the hospital. He had been blasting this song on repeat because the tone of the song just fit. She had laid on the bed beside him and held his hand before telling him that the song was horrifyingly beautiful. How could she compare the pain of losing his daughter to not getting her way? For the first time since this whole thing begun he hated her. And two minutes later when he opened his eyes in time to watch her collapse on the stage? He hated himself. The only sound in the auditorium was her sobbing and he just couldn't handle it. He ran out of the auditorium and through the halls as fast as his legs would carry him. By the time he reached his truck he could barely breathe. Sliding into his truck he buried his head in his hands and let the tears fall for only the second time since Finchel fucking ruined him.

He had been sober for over 24 hours and it was time to change that. He had still been drunk when he made his way to school the next day. The halls were buzzing about the end of Finchel but he was too out of it to believe them. He headed out to the bleachers instead of going to classes and just let the cold air sober him up. He felt the cool air start to sink into his bones. He had finally just relaxed when Satan came walking up to him. She apologized which was kind of nice but then she started in about Rachel. She started spouting crap about Finn dumping Rachel like it solved everything. He got up to leave because seriously? Fuck this.

"Of course it fucking matters! Go and make her yours. Stop breaking both of your hearts because I am so fucking done with watching you two destroy each other!" She shrieked as she pushed at his chest.

He was breaking her heart? What a fucking joke. He wanted to lash out so instead he tells her that it's too late; because it is. It doesn't change anything. What was so hard to understand? Yeah Finn dumped her, for now. She still chose Finn, she would still love Finn until he took her back. Finchel was endgame and no amount of hating it would change anything. Rachel was never going to be his anything. She didn't love him. If she cared about him even a little bit she would have at least told him before they announced it to everyone else. So yeah, Fuck this.

He blew off the rest of the day because he seriously couldn't do this. At this rate he wouldn't end up graduating after all. He spent the next two periods beating the hell out of the punching bag in the weight room because he needed to hit something. His first choice would have been Finn but apparently the lucky bastard was out of state or something. It was for the best though. Nothing says no future like manslaughter. He left the school with bloody knuckles and just drove around aimlessly for a few hours. He was parked in another random parking lot when he remembered that he was supposed to pick up his sister from her dance lessons.

He was wandering around the studio waiting for the brat's class to end when he saw her. Seriously, did she really need to be everywhere he went? Despite his irritation he found himself watching her movements. He'd never seen her dance like this before. God he missed her. She was so fucking beautiful; no amount of hurt could change that. She was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen when he met her ten years ago and she'd only grown more beautiful every day since. He almost smiled when she stopped dancing to the sappy shit and started with Breaking Benjamin. She was the most talented person he'd ever met and God he didn't know how to live without her. He ached just watching her and it took everything in him to not go in there and beg her to love him back. Beg her to just forget about Finn and see what's been right in front of her for ten damn years. Hold her until she feels the way that he does about her. Gritting his teeth he turned away from her and walked down the hall to grab his sister. Sara was throwing a fit when his eyes met Rachel's. He just wanted her to love him, but it wasn't there in her eyes. Her eyes could never lie and she didn't love him anymore now than she did ten years ago. So he walked away. Again.

When Sam showed up with a slushy the next day he'd been sure that Karma was being a bitch once again. Once he realised that the drink was to quench his thirst, he appreciated the gesture and the hotlips. That shit was funny. Evans' words were a bit more helpful than San's had been but 17 years of abandonment taught him that anything that sounded too good to be true? Actually was too good to be true.

Puck leaned against his locker and closed his eyes. He felt some relief at actually being able to be at his locker for the first time in a while. He had taken to avoiding it during breaks since she chose Finn. He had heard Blaine telling Sam earlier that he would be taking _her_ out for lunch today. He was kind of amused about the fact that they hadn't even seen him there. He was getting really good at this whole blending in thing. Fuckin' Mike had been bragging about his mad ninja skills for years. If he had to guess it was more about the fact that everyone in this school was stupid as shit and less about his skills.

"Did you hear about Jewfro's blog today?" He heard one cheerleader say to another before tuning them both out.

That shit was pretty funny. He'd laughed twice today and that was some kind of record. He'd spent the last two weeks alternating between furiously drunk and miserably hungover. He was fairly sure he'd consumed enough Jack to fill a hot tub. If he didn't slow down his liver would fail before he graduated. Fuck he really missed _her._ He opened his eyes just in time to see Quinn flying at him. He widened his eyes as he realised that she was legitimately sobbing. He caught her as she flew into his arms and couldn't believe how good it felt. He had missed human contact as lame as it sounded. His little group of 'friends' had all been stupidly tactile.

"Q what the fuck?" He asked after she had ruined his shirt.

He listened in horror as she told him that _she_ was hurt. Rachel was hurt. His whole world came crashing down around him. He thought that the last two weeks were painful? They had nothing on the pain that was consuming him currently. If she wasn't okay he would fucking die. It was one thing to be miserable without her; knowing that she had some semblance of happiness somewhere. It was another for her to not exist at all. He was two seconds away from an aneurism when Quinn slapped his face and brought him out of it. He ran faster than he'd ever moved before dragging Quinn the whole way. Throwing himself into the car next to Sam he hoped that Satan would haul ass. Regret was rolling over him in waves as he prayed that she would be okay. As the tears silently rolled down his face, he realised that he would give anything to just have another day with her. The irony of the situation was not lost on him either.

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><p><strong>There it is, I tried my best to express how he was feeling in all of those other scenes because I hated that a lot of people thought he was a bad guy. Let me know what you thought.<strong>


	25. I Don't Know What To Say

**Here it is. I'm so sorry that it took so long to update. I caught the world's nastiest flu bug and haven't really felt up to writing until last night. I made the mistake of watching Glee before writing and the episode's cliffhanger just threw me for a loop. So I wrote a quick one-shot so that I could focus and I hope that you guys enjoy this update. It's longer than usual if that helps. Enjoy!**

**I own nothing.**

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><p>Santana had just pulled into the parking lot of Lima General and Puck was out of the car before she had stopped the vehicle. The other three friends hastily clambered out of the car and took off after him. Sam was amazed by his speed. In another life Puck would have made a hell of a track star. They caught up to him in the Emergency Room where he was yelling at a stern looking nurse.<p>

"Rachel Berry and Blaine Anderson. Where the fuck are they?" He yelled aggressively.

Sam walked forward to talk to the nurse as Santana and Quinn did their best to calm their friend. Ignoring the furious look on the nurse's face he turned on the charm.

"I'm sorry about my friend. His brother Blaine called and told us that he and our friend Rachel were in a car accident. He's just really distressed, as are the rest of us. If you could just tell us how they are or point us to their rooms it would be really appreciated. I promise he's only about half this hostile normally." Sam shot her a flirtatious smile as Puck growled behind him.

"Brother?" She said doubtfully as she surveyed the angry teen.

Sam just nodded as he continued to block out the panic in his stomach.

"Alright. Well they have temporary rooms side by side down the hall. 4H and 4J. Make sure that the patient's 'brother' keeps his temper controlled." She said wearily as she pointed down the hall.

Puck ripped out of Santana's grasp and shot down the hall like a bat out of hell. Sam sent the nurse a grateful smile before running after him with the girls trailing behind.

Blaine was leaning back on his makeshift bed when he heard Puck's voice yelling down the hall. He shot a glance over at Rachel. He had asked the nurse to leave the curtain open so that he could keep an eye on his friend. They had done a good job of stitching her up. Blaine looked up just in time to see Puck tear back the curtain that shielded them from the hall. His eyes met his own for a moment before looking him over for damage. Blaine may have lied about the seriousness of his own injuries. His left wrist was definitely broken and his concussion was making things uncomfortably fuzzy. He nodded his head in acknowledgment and Puck nodded back before his eyes landed on Rachel's bed.

Rachel certainly looked worse for wear than Blaine did. She had a black eye and some serious bruising along the right side of her face and down her neck. A bandage covered a pretty deep gash along her hairline. A strangled sound escaped Puck's lips just as his friends caught up with him. Rachel's eyes fluttered open and Blaine heard his friends sigh in relief. She glanced around at her surroundings as if searching for the sound before her eyes settled on Puck. Surprise crossed her injured features as she examined the man in front of her.

"Noah?"

Puck just continued to stare at her as if she might disappear. Sam finally shoved him towards the bed. He walked slowly towards her, just stopping at the foot of her bed. She could clearly see the tears that were threatening to fall down his already tear-stained face.

"Noah what are you doing here?" She asked him gently.

Rachel was vaguely aware of her friends closing the curtains to give the two of them some privacy. She continued to examine the speechless boy in front of her. He looked so tired and weary. He didn't look like he'd eaten a decent meal in weeks and his eyes looked so sad.

"Noah?" She tried again.

"I-" He started before shaking his head and closing his eyes for a moment.

Rachel decided to just wait for him to gather his thoughts. It was the first time that he'd really looked at her in what felt like years. She didn't want to push him away again. She watched as he took a deep breath and opened his eyes again.

"I don't know what to say." He said with some frustration.

"That's alright." Rachel said as she tried to understand.

"No, it's not alright. Everything just fucking sucks. And I really tried to hate you. I wanted you to just leave me alone so that I could get over this thing between us. But you wouldn't leave me alone and I acted like such an asshole and made everything worse," He scraped his hand over his face before looking at her again. "You chose Finn and I wanted to hate you as much as I hated him but you wouldn't let me."

Rachel felt tears pooling in her eyes but blinked them back and tried to focus on what he was saying.

"You've spent so much time chasing after him and he's just a fucking idiot. And I really wanted to hate you for it."

"Noah, I-" She stopped when he held up a hand.

"Please just don't. I need to get this said." She nodded her head. "I tried to hate you but you were everywhere that I went. You were in the auditorium singing my song and you were dancing at my sister's studio. You were in the halls and in my dreams and I couldn't get away from you no matter what I tried. You chose Finn and I knew that he would never share so I tried to walk away from you." He gritted his teeth before continuing. "But the truth is that I've been so fucking in love with you since we were seven that I can't walk away from you. I've sat back and watched you chase the wrong asshole for years and I helped you break my heart by not telling you how I felt sooner. The last two weeks have been the worst of my life. The truth is that I was one day away from either begging you to just love me back or throwing myself in front of a fucking bus Rachel."

Rachel just stared up at the man in front of her in amazement. The tears were running freely down her cheeks now but he didn't seem to notice. She wasn't sure she'd ever heard him say so much in one go before and it caused her to smile.

"When Quinn told me you were hurt I thought I was going to die. I was praying that you'd live just so I could talk to you again. So I could see that fucking smile of yours again. And yeah I see the irony and I think irony is a sadistic nasty bitch." He finished with a smile that didn't quite touch his eyes.

Rachel reached for his hand and pulled him to stand next to her bed. She idly played with his fingers as she tried to form her words coherently. The doctors had told her that she had a rather serious concussion. She would be very upset if she woke up tomorrow and this all was just a lovely dream.

"I should have told you before we announced the engagement. The truth is that I knew it was a bad idea and I really just didn't want to hear it. I didn't want to tell anyone really so I couldn't imagine your reaction." She looked up at him for a moment and her chest warmed at the affection she saw in his eyes. "The truth is that there aren't enough apologies in the world to make up for the way that I've treated you in the past few years."

"Rach, I should be apologizing. I'm the one who should be sor-"

"You can apologize after. Noah, everything you did was all in reaction to my actions. I've ignored the way that you felt about me because it complicated my life. I have thoughtlessly pushed you into the background of my life for years. You have always been there. The slushy incidents weren't pleasant but we moved past it and you have been amazing ever since. You have been there for me every step of the way. You've always supported my decisions and been there to catch me when they don't work out. You are kind and thoughtful and loyal. You're talented and smart and hilarious. You take care of the people that you love and you have always taken care of me," She looked down at the blanket she was playing with in her other hand.

"I'm so sorry that I've spent the last few years trying to find those characteristics in someone else. I have hurt you in so many ways over the years and I am so incredibly sorry. What I am most regretful of is that you thought you could be so easily replaced. Finn said he knew that the engagement would hurt you and that you'd sever ties with me, but he didn't think it would hurt me. My father said it was foolish of him to think that, but you thought I didn't care as well. I'm so sorry that any of my past actions would cause you to think it wouldn't matter to me. I never equated saying yes to Finn with saying goodbye to you Noah, or I would never have said yes." She squeezed his hands gently. "Nothing in my life has hurt more than the realisation that I had lost you forever. Not losing Finn or losing at Nationals. Not even the drama with Shelby. You are so important to me. You are the most important person in my life apart from my fathers and I hate that you didn't know that Noah!"

She wasn't in the habit of talking to the floor but this conversation was hard enough to have without looking at him. Rachel took a breath and looked up at Noah's face once more. She smiled when she saw that the sadness had left his eyes and was replaced by something that looked like hope.

"I shouldn't have slushied you." He said quietly.

"Noah, the careless way that I've treated you over the last three years more than justifies every slushy you've ever thrown at me." She answered with a grin.

Puck sat on the bed next to her and continued to play with Rachel's fingers. The two of them sat there for a few moments and enjoyed the moment.

"Noah? Please just talk to me next time? The last two weeks 'fucking blew'." Rachel enunciated with a grin.

"Deal." Puck agreed as he heard Santana snort with laughter from the next room.

"About fucking time." Santana said as she threw back the curtain with a wide smile on her face.

"Longest two weeks ever." Sam sighed dramatically.

Quinn just walked up to the bed and dropped a quick kiss on Rachel's forehead.

"I'm really glad you're okay Rachel." She said quietly.

"Yeah about that!" Santana yelled as she turned on a guilty looking Blaine. "You had us all panicking Hobbit! You made it sound like she was dying!"

The group turned their attention to Blaine who looked torn between pride and guilt. He shifted uncomfortably in his bed for a moment before answering.

"Well it was just so weird that we got into an accident in the first place considering the plan-"

"What plan?" Rachel and Puck asked in unison from their bed.

"We were going to say that Rachel got hurt somehow and then you were supposed to freak the hell out and show up at the hospital. You know drop to your knees and beg God and Rachel for a second chance or whatever." Santana said with a wave of the hand.

"The dramatic nature of that plan sounds like Kurt's doing." Rachel said through her laughter.

"Apparently Kurt's rubbing off on Blaine. Speaking of Blaine; spill!" Santana threatened.

"Well the plan was only in the planning stages. We hadn't figured out how she'd get hurt or how to get her up here for some reason or another. We were kind of stuck." Blaine said.

"Blaine if you say that you purposely swerved into traffic I promise you won't ever be leaving that bed." Puck growled menacingly from beside Rachel.

Blaine just shook his head in horror at the accusation.

"No! I had sort of given up on my brilliant plan and I was just trying to keep Rachel's spirits up. The accident was in fact just an accident. But it was such a weird coincidence that I decided to go with it. I wasn't lying about the blood you know. Rachel's little head wound was bleeding enough to freak me out. I may have exaggerated on the phone but I didn't want to leave the fate of Puckleberry in the hands of these three."

"Hey!" Sam yelled in mock outrage.

"Come on. I know that Quinn is going to Yale for acting but I figured genuine concern would do the trick better. I felt pretty damn guilty about it for the record. But I figured that I may as well take the hand that was dealt and make it work. I'd apologize but it worked." He said before pointing at the other bed.

Santana rolled her eyes and she tried to hide her grin.

"Well apparently Jew-God wanted Puckleberry talking again." Puck muttered from the bed.

"No-ah!" Rachel laughed when he shot her a grin.

"Well maybe we can get Jew-God in on my next plan." Santana said as she shot a wicked glance at Sam and Quinn who were standing together by the bed.

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed it. I kept you all waiting far too long. I hope it didn't feel rushed, this was sort of how I saw them resolving things from Chapter 1. Something huge had to happen for Puck to get out of his own head. Let me know what you think please.<strong>


	26. I Like This

**I'm so sorry about the crazy delay. I was really sick and then I just couldn't find my way back to this story. But I'm back and writing for this story. I doubt I'll get back to a chapter a day but I'll try for two or ****three a week. Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoy the rest of this story. Thanks!**

**I own nothing!**

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><p>Rachel's fathers had rushed into their room in a panic. After a few moments of calming conversation with Rachel's doctor the two had settled down. Hiram had taken a look around the room before his eyes landed on Puck. He had promptly burst into tears when he saw the closeness between Rachel and Puck. Leroy had rushed over to his husband and tried to explain the tears to the stunned teens.<p>

"Everything has been so very stressful. Hiram's heart near broke when he found out about the engagement. We were just so worried that our dear Rachel was making the biggest mistake. When we were made aware of the rift between yourself and Rachel, Noah, well we were very upset," Puck ducked his head and muttered a nervous apology before being waved off by both Berry men. "No need to apologize. There was a lot of fault in the situation. We're both just so relieved to see the two of you together again Noah. You've always been like a son to us and we were just so worried that we wouldn't be seeing you again."

The Berry men hugged their daughter's friends and doted on both Rachel and Blaine. Puck wiped away stray tears as the Berry men hugged him and assured him that they cared very deeply for him. After an hour or so a nurse came in and asked that the patients be allowed to rest. Everyone left for the day and promised to pick them up the following morning when they were released. Puck dropped a lingering kiss to Rachel's forehead and promised to see her the next day. He stopped by Blaine's bed and thanked him.

The friends hugged the Berries goodbye outside of the hospital and headed to Santana's car. Santana drove towards her house and none of them disagreed with the destination.

An hour later found them all sprawled out on Santana's bed together in a very comfortable heap. Puck's hand found Santana's in a wordless exchange. Sam and Quinn were wrapped around each other in a way that seemed instinctive.

"Thanks." Puck whispered sleepily into the silence.

Santana squeezed his hand in response and Quinn and Sam both smiled reassuringly.

"I'm a fuckin' idiot. I'm really sorry for everything. So thanks." He continued.

Quinn's hand tangled with Puck's free hand. Sam just grinned and blew him a kiss.

Exhausted from the events of the past weeks, they fell asleep without another word to each other. Santana's parents stumbled across them later that night and covered the group with a warm blanket. They called the parents of Santana's friends before heading to bed themselves.

Puck slept soundly for the first time in weeks. He dreamt of Rachel; but unlike all of the other dreams, this time she was smiling. Sam pulled Quinn closer to himself as they slept peacefully. Santana's hand never left Puck's as she smiled in her sleep. When the four of them woke up the next morning they all felt refreshed.

"Mornin'" Puck mumbled gruffly as he ran a hand through his Mohawk.

Sam, Quinn and Santana exchanged pleasantries before they opened their eyes against the bright sun shining through the bedroom window. Santana glanced at the clock. 8:34

"Fuck, it's way too early to be awake on a Saturday." Santana muttered half-heartedly. If she was being honest she'd slept soundly and was wide awake now.

"Hmmm," Quinn answered as she buried her head further into the crook of Sam's neck.

Sam just laughed in response before glancing at the clock once more.

"They'll be releasing our hobbits soon," Sam said after a yawn. "We could get ready and then meet them. Maybe head to the diner for breakfast?"

"Rachel loves their pancakes." Puck mumbled as he thought over Sam's proposition.

"Can we wait a few minutes? I'm so comfortable." Quinn said as she snuggled deeper between Sam and Puck.

The friends all stayed the way that they were for a while just letting the relief wash over them. A day ago this wouldn't have seemed like a possibility, just laying together in comfort. There were still things that needed to be discussed but it was just so nice to be able to be all together again.

"Alright Q, I love you but we need to get going." Santana said as she finally left the warm bed full of her friends.

Puck followed Santana out of the bed and headed to the bathroom across the hall for a shower. Quinn and Sam stayed quietly on the bed together as they waited for their turns. They heard the shower in Santana's bathroom start up. Quinn unconsciously snuggled closer to Sam and smiled when he wrapped his arms more securely around her.

"Hey Sam?" Quinn asked shyly after a few moments.

"Yeah Q?"

Quinn took a moment to figure out how to say what she wanted to tell him. He waited patiently as she fought an inner battle. His arms tightened minutely around her and the gesture calmed her down completely.

"I like this." She said quietly, hoping he understood that she was talking about the two of them.

He smiled against her hair before replying.

"I do too. Feels kind of natural, don't you think?"

Quinn smiled against his shoulder and the two of them lapsed once more into companionable silence. Both felt content with having finally acknowledged the pull between the two of them.

Santana walked back into her room in a towel and observed the beautiful blond duo on her bed. The two of them were so wrapped up in each other that they hadn't heard her enter the room. In the background she heard Puckerman stepping out of the shower.

"Alright lovebirds, you know Puck's gonna get antsy if he doesn't see Berry again like stat," Her voice broke the blissful silence and the two separated happily before heading to take showers in the now empty bathrooms.

Santana picked out her jeans and a bright red sweater before Puck came back. She was just towel-drying her hair when Puck walked into her room. The two of them sat beside each other on her bed. She could see the tension gathering in his shoulders. She reached out and grabbed his hand as he found his words.

"I'm an asshole."

Santana shook her head and played with his fingers quietly.

"But San-"

"Listen up. You made a mistake but it was like a tragedy of fucking errors. Everyone had some fault in it ya know? You could have told her how you felt years ago, but because of the way she pushed you away you couldn't. She should have told you about the engagement but she knew you'd lose it. Finn shouldn't have been so selfish. I should have told her years ago that you loved her, because that's why I hated her. That's why Q hated her. The last three years have been a total cock-up but none of it was really avoidable. So stop apologizing. None of us handled any of this well. I knew you'd go off the deep end but I sat back and watched it happen."

"San, none of this was your fault-"

"It isn't yours either Puck. The last two weeks were hell because we were all sad. We didn't just want Rachel to be okay. We were so worried about you. Because you aren't you without Rachel. And Rachel isn't herself without you. And the whole thing was terrifying because you two were destroying yourselves and each other and there wasn't anything that anyone including yourselves could do about it."

Puck said nothing as he played with her fingers.

"But it's in the past now. Things might be hard, because eventually Hudson will come back and you and Rachel have so much to talk about. But we're all together now Puck. We're a family, we never stopped being one, but now we're together again. So no matter what happens we'll face it together. I promise." Santana ended strongly.

Puck smiled up at her and didn't doubt his friend for a second.

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><p>There it is. I promise after I load the next chapter of Smooth Criminal I plan on spending the rest of tonight writing. Let me know what you thought.<p> 


	27. Pink Sunglasses

**Here's the next chapter. I'm going to try updating Smooth Criminal and We Are Broken on alternating days from now. Enjoy!**

**I own nothing.**

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><p>Rachel sat in a wheelchair grumpily as she waited for Blaine to sign his discharge papers. She had argued with the nurse when she insisted that the two of them had to be wheeled to the front entrance of the hospital. She understood that it was hospital policy but the whole thing was so overdramatic. And when Rachel Berry deems something overdramatic people need to pay attention damn it!<p>

"Alright Drama Queen. Keep the sighing down will ya? I still have a headache." Blaine joked from his place next to her.

Rachel just shot him a dirty look in response and sighed once again as the nurses wheeled them out to the front door. As they exited the hospital Rachel forgot her irritation and smiled brightly when she saw her friends standing outside waiting for them. She tersely thanked the nurse before getting up and walking towards her friends beside Blaine. She noticed Noah and Santana smirking as she reached them.

"Giving the nurses a hard time B?" Santana asked with amusement.

Rachel ignored Blaine's nod and feigned innocence.

"I don't know what you're talking about Santana."

Noah and Santana both snorted in amusement. It amazed her how alike the two of them were.

"Rigggghhht. So the fact that she looked like she was stoked to see the back of you?" Santana trailed off with a laugh.

Rachel scowled and stomped her foot lightly.

"Well if they hadn't insisted on treating me like an invalid I wouldn't have needed to argue with them." She answered petulantly.

"Alright Berry." Noah answered her as he slung his arm across her shoulder lightly.

Rachel's mood was suddenly forgotten as she leaned into him. A lightness replaced any feelings of irritation as he guided her towards his truck. Blaine followed them to his truck as the others headed towards Santana's car.

"Where are we going?" Blaine asked happily.

He noticed the lightness within the group and was happy that they had worked through their own stuff after the accident. He had been a bit worried that Puck wouldn't let them back in so easily. But his little group of bff's had a way of worming their way back in.

Puck started his truck and snaked his way through the parking lot.

"We're going to Pat's diner. The one with the vegan pancakes and shit. We didn't have time for breakfast and hospital food sucks." He answered as he turned onto the main road.

"Oh Noah! That sounds fantastic, I love their pancakes!" Rachel exclaimed.

Blaine watched with amusement as Puck rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously.

"Yeah, I know." He replied quietly.

Rachel beamed in response and unconsciously moved closer to him. Blaine tried to hide his grin as he closed his eyes against the sunlight. The pressure in his head had decreased mostly overnight but he stil had some serious light sensitivity. As if sensing this, he felt Puck press a pair of aviators into his palm. Blaine opened his eyes and looked at his friend questioningly as he covered his eyes with Puck's sunglasses.

"I've had a stupid amount of concussions over the years, trust me." He answered simply.

Blaine nodded in thanks and noticed that Rachel was also wearing a pair of sunglasses. They were probably Quinn's if he had to guess. The pink trim didn't really seem like Puck's style, he thought with a snort of amusement.

"They're Quinn's, jackass." Puck growled before laughing as well.

The three friends settled into a comfortable silence as they continued to drive. Blaine watched as Rachel rested her head lightly against Puck's arm. The smile that graced his features was blinding. Blaine didn't think he'd ever felt so relieved in his life.

Puck pulled into the parking lot of Pat's diner and turned off the truck. The three hopped out of the vehicle and headed towards their friends. Puck's arm shot out and stopped Blaine as Rachel joined Santana and followed Sam and Quinn inside. Blaine turned to face his friend and wasn't surprised to see the worry on his face.

"Listen, I'm an asshole-"Puck started.

"I know." Blaine said with a smile. He laughed when Puck rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I shouldn't have done anything that I did and I shouldn't have been an asshole to you." He continued awkwardly, running a hand over his Mohawk.

Blaine studied his friend for a moment before replying.

"Don't worry about it. Seriously." He answered.

"But-" he stopped when Blaine shook his head.

"But nothing. You were hurting more than anyone else, including Rachel. You lashed out and acted like a prick but I would have done the same. San too. It sucked and we were worried about you. But it's done now. I know you're sorry. Hell I knew you were sorry when you let me land three punches," He raised his eyebrow when Puck shrugged. "Come on Puck, we both know from fight club that you've never had someone knock you on your ass like that before. It's been two weeks and Sam's eye is still black. So stop apologizing."

Puck scuffed his foot against the ground before looking up at him.

"I'm not apologizing for hitting you." Blaine added with a very Puckerman smirk.

Puck snorted with laughter as he felt the tension break.

"Yeah Sam said you wouldn't. To be fair I deserved it and no one else would've done it."

The two boys hugged it out before heading towards the diner.

"Jesus." Blaine sighed in amusement when he noticed his friends all watching them through a window.

Puck laughed as they walked into the diner. Blaine sat beside Sam as Puck threw himself into the booth next to Rachel.

The waitress stopped by with menus and asked for their drink orders. After a few minutes of deliberating they all ordered their meals and sat back and stared at each other.

Santana glanced around at her friends and cleared her throat. All eyes turned to her and she tried to edit her words before they left her mouth.

"The last two weeks fucking blew," She smiled when Sam raised his hands in a classic Artie and muttered 'Preach'. "But we made it through, and we're going to promise not to do that again. Got me? Because I would do anything for you crazy bitches and I never want to hear Rachel singing 'We are Broken' again unless it's on Broadway. And I never want to watch Noah disappear into Puck again. Blaine if you crash a car again and put yourself in danger I'll kill you myself. Sam you're way too decent for Mercedes and Q if you go off the deep end again I'll commit you myself,"

She glanced around at her motley crew of best friends and smiled before continuing.

"We're best friends. Fuck me because I don't know when it happened but you're it for me. Boyfriends, girlfriends come second. You guys are my soul mates so don't fuck it up again." Santana finished with teary eyes.

"Soul mates. I like that." Rachel whispered thoughtfully.

Sam and Quinn's fingers tangled underneath the table as they looked at their little group of soul mates.

"I don't know how Kurt will feel about all of this, but I agree San." Blaine nodded with a smile.

"Glee's a family, but you guys are it for me too," Puck declared after a moment or two. "I was somewhere really dark and only you guys tried to bring me out of it. You're it for me."

Tears escaped Rachel's eyes as she smiled more brightly than they'd ever seen. She felt Noah and Santana wrap her in their arms as she wiped at her tears. She'd always wanted to be a part of something special. She couldn't imagine anything more special than the group that she was sitting with right now.

"I love you guys so much." She choked out as her friends echoed her sentiments.

When the waitress appeared with their meals, not a single eye was dry.

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed it. This is kind of how I see this group of friends. They're very much like the group of friends I grew up with. Let me know what you think!<strong>


	28. Pezberry Love Nests

**Enjoy!**

**I own nothing.**

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><p>Rachel walked into school on Monday morning with a spring in her step and a dazzling smile on her face. Santana walked alongside her with a matching grin. People took notice when the two girls floated through the halls. Everyone had noticed Rachel's dejected and broken expression over the past few weeks. And not a single one of them had ever seen her look as happy as she seemed today. More than a few guys took notice at just how beautiful she was when she smiled like that. Her eyes sparkled and shone as she walked with her best friend towards her locker.<p>

Santana leaned against the locker next to Rachel's like she had done so many times recently and studied her friend. She was so relieved to see Rachel smiling again. Rachel was single for the first time in a while and she was happy. Santana doubted that her single status would last long, but Puckleberry still had some serious talking to do before they moved into romantic territory. No the smile on Rachel's face was there because she finally realised just how loved she was. She had finally found herself a group of people who would die for her and she would do the same for.

"I love you B." Santana blurted out without thinking. Rachel turned towards her friend and if it was possible her smile became even brighter.

"Careful Rachel, you smile any brighter, we'll all need sunglasses." Sam said as he walked up to the girls.

Rachel just threw herself at the blond boy. He caught her in his arms and held on tight. He grinned over her head at Santana and they all breathed happily.

Rachel stepped back and wiped away a tear of happiness as she turned to hug Santana as well.

"I love you too S." She whispered into her shoulder before stepping back.

"I knew it!" They heard as they saw Jacob running away from them excitedly.

The three friends began to laugh as they realised that he was probably on his way to update his blog again. On Sunday the group had spent the day hanging out at Rachel's house. Quinn had read the blog post about their little love circle to Blaine and Rachel. All of them had been laughing uproariously by the time Quinn finished.

"Well we just made his dreams come true. Just wait 'til he adds Puck to the mix." Santana smirked down at Rachel.

Quinn and Puck walked up together with confused smiles. Quinn stepped up to Sam and greeted him softly as Puck dropped a kiss to Santana and Rachel's foreheads.

"Is there a reason that Jewfro just ran by muttering about Pezberry love nests?" Puck asked with a frown on his face.

The two girls exchanged glances with Sam before giggling again. Blaine walked up as they were explaining. The smile on his face seemed a bit forced and didn't quite touch his eyes. Rachel noticed and hugged him quickly before asking him what was wrong.

"Well, it's not wrong exactly. At least not for me," He paused awkwardly before running a hand over his perfect hair. "Kurt and Finn will be back tomorrow."

"Oh." Rachel said with some surprise. "Well it'll be nice for you to see Kurt."

"Rachel? Are you alright?" Quinn asked quietly.

Rachel glanced up from the floor as she thought over her friend's words. She looked over at Noah and noticed that the tension had returned to his shoulders and that he was glaring over her head. She tangled her fingers through his as she turned to face Quinn.

"Yes, I'm a little surprised. I suppose I just got used to not seeing Finn around," She answered thoughtfully. "But the two of us will have to see each other again eventually. The breakup wasn't pleasant but it was for the most part mutual, so I'm sure that we can work through our awkwardness for the good of the club."

She noticed that despite her answer, the tension had yet to leave Noah's shoulders.

"In all honesty, I haven't had much time to process the breakup because I was concerned with other matters," She squeezed his hand. "But I think that in itself proves that I'll be fine. I'm in no way unhappy without him in my life so I think that once he and I get past the initial awkwardness, everything will be fine."

Rachel glanced at her watch before pulling Noah away from their group of friends. She had five minutes until the first bell rang, but she decided to skip class. She smiled at her friends over her shoulder as she pulled Noah outside towards their spot on the bleachers. She was glad that she hadn't taken her jacket off because it was still winter after all.

"Noah, perhaps we should talk." Rachel said firmly as he looked over at her.

He nodded silently and she took this as her cue.

"You are so incredibly important to me. I believe that Santana summed it up perfectly the other day. I'm not sure what the future holds for us, but I never want to not have you in my life," He nodded in agreement before she continued. "I haven't forgotten what you told me in the hospital, nor have I forgotten that a lot of other people told me as well."

Smiling, she reached out and touched his cheek softly.

"I was just wondering if perhaps we could spend a while like this before we consider altering our friendship. I'm aware of course that what you feel for me should alter our relationship, but it's always been there hasn't it? I promise not to take your feelings or you for granted again, if you will be patient with me as I explore my own feelings for you," He smiled and nodded again. "I love you more than anyone who isn't my fathers. I have never been more upset than when I thought that I'd lost you. There isn't a part of my future that I don't imagine you being a part of. But as it stands, I just ended a very serious relationship with one of our classmates. I feel that I owe it to myself and to everyone else to properly end things with Finn and to examine how I feel about that before I move on."

She had carefully watched him as she spoke to see how her words affected him. He hadn't disagreed with anything that she had said and he was still smiling lightly.

"So I just ask for patience and support as I do my best to navigate the end of a perhaps thoughtless and stupid but real engagement," She frowned when his eyes darkened at the mention of the engagement but they cleared as she smiled once more.

"I can do that." He answered her sincerely as he wrapped an arm around her shivering shoulders.

"I love you so much Noah, I'm so happy that we're finally okay." She whispered.

"Me too B, me too." He answered before they settled into silence as they waited for the bell to ring.

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think please!<strong>


	29. Confrontations of an explosive nature

I hope you enjoy it.

I own nothing.

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><p>Rachel nervously smoothed down her skirt in front of the bathroom mirror. Finn and Kurt had come back to school this morning. She hadn't seen either one of them yet. If she was being honest she had avoided her locker and the lunch room that day. There had been an assembly during her one class with Kurt and she had spent that period on the bleachers with Santana instead. She knew that it would be smarter to get the awkwardness with Kurt and the potential hostility with Finn out of the way before Glee. She just hadn't been able to face them yet. She was worried that Kurt would treat her differently. She also didn't want to see the anger and hurt on Finn's face. So she was hiding in the bathroom and she was already three and a half minutes late for Glee. She looked up from the mirror when the door opened and Quinn stepped into the room.<p>

"I'm a coward." Rachel said answering Quinn's unspoken question.

Quinn shook her head and stepped closer to Rachel, reaching for her hand.

"You aren't. But the longer you wait, the harder it will be. You're late for Glee for the first time ever. We were worried. Puck's upset." She whispered the part about Puck.

Rachel's eyes left the mirror and met Quinn's worriedly.

"Why is he upset?"

"Rach, he told you he's been in love with you forever and he's being as patient as he can. You told him that you're okay with your breakup, which I don't think he really believed in the first place. But now you're late for Glee and you're hiding in the bathroom. He isn't the only one who thinks you're in here crying because you think Finn's the love of your life," Rachel's eyes widened. "It's a pattern. You've been chasing Finn and trying to make it work for so long, too long. So get your ass moving and face this thing."

Rachel stared as Quinn dropped her hand and left without another word. She scampered after her friend quickly as her words played over in her head. Of course Noah doubted how Rachel felt. She had given him no real reason to believe her. Raising her chin she walked into the choir room. Her eyes found Noah's and she sent him a soft smile of reassurance. She quietly apologized to Schue for being late before taking her seat in the front of the room between Santana and Sam. Both of her friends nudged her shoulders in greeting before they all turned towards the front.

"As I was saying, we need to plan our set list for Regionals. So your assignment for the week is to work together in groups of your choosing to pick two songs to perform. I would like a group number and a duet idea from each group. You need to be ready to perform both songs starting next Monday." Mr. Schuester said, "You guys are dismissed for the day. Get to work on your group assignments."

Rachel stood up and glanced around the classroom for the first time. She noticed Finn sitting in the back with a dark expression on his face. She turned to Santana and asked if she could get a ride home with her after her Cheerios practice. Santana nodded knowingly before walking out with Brittany. Blaine walked by and dropped a kiss to her forehead before yanking Kurt out the door before the boy could say anything. Sam and Quinn hovered for a moment before mentioning that they'd be in the library if she needed them. Her eyes moved to where Noah had been but he had slipped out at some point. She was frustrated by how easily he seemed to do that these days. She smoothed her hands over her skirt as she noticed that only the two of them remained. Her eyes met his nervously and she struggled with what to say.

"We really don't need to do this." Finn huffed as he stood and moved down the risers towards her.

"I think that we do. It's been a couple weeks and I feel that for the good of the club we need to talk this out." Rachel answered persistently.

"Fine. Say what you need to say."

"I don't really know what to say Finn. This situation doesn't come with an instruction manual. I suppose I should start with an apology. Although I'm not entirely sure what I should apologize for." She trailed off thoughtfully.

If she had been paying more attention she would have noticed that her words only incensed him further.

"Are you kidding me? You don't know what to apologize for? How about saying sorry for caring so much about stupid, fucking Puck? Or maybe for saying yes in the first place!" He yelled with a red face as Rachel stepped back.

His words washed over her and despite her best efforts, she felt her temper soaring.

"Excuse me? You want me to apologize for caring about a man who's been my friend since I was seven years old? That's one of the stupidest things you've ever said and you say a lot of stupid crap Finn Hudson," She yelled back, stomping her foot in anger. "As for saying yes, I said yes because I loved you. You asked me despite knowing how many people it would hurt. I hurt my friends and family because I didn't think through my decision and the way it would affect others. You knew exactly how much it would hurt Noah and you still asked me. Your hatred for Noah caused you to decide for both of us to end a friendship that is most important to me. I was negligent and at fault because I rushed into things. You made a decision to hurt people that I love, so if anyone needs to apologize it's you Finn Hudson!"

The two of them squared off and they stared at each other angrily.

"You broke my heart!" Finn yelled finally.

"You broke up with me! I never meant to hurt anyone! You did." Rachel answered with a glare.

Finn's eyes fell to the floor as he finally understood what she was saying.

"Maybe we're not ready to have this conversation. We're angry about totally different things." Rachel sighed and turned towards the door. She was halfway out the door when his words stopped her.

"Are you with Puck?" He spat the words out.

She turned back to face him.

"Finn you told me to fix things with him. It also happens to be none of your business as we are no longer a couple," Rachel cleared her throat and tried to calm herself. "Noah and I aren't dating. You and I were together for a long time and we all need to move past that before I begin to date again. But I need you to know that you and I won't be together again. I would really like it if we could spend the rest of the year amicably for the sake of our friends," He glared at a spot over her head. "I've made the mistake of choosing you over everyone else for the last three years. I won't be making the mistake again. You can either make an effort to make this breakup amicable or not. But if you choose not to I will not cater to your feelings the way that I have in the past."

She turned on her heel and marched out the door, leaving her ex fiancé wondering when she had stopped being his Rachel.

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><p>Let me know what you thought please. Thanks!<p> 


	30. Here's To Us

**So I'm going away for the weekend and I felt bad about not updating this until then. So I wrote this chapter a few minutes ago. I hope you enjoy it. I honestly had no idea where to go after last chapter but this feels kind of perfect to me. Also I kept the original set list because it felt like perfection for the circumstances. Enjoy!**

**I own nothing.**

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><p>The next few weeks passed without much drama. Rachel and Finn avoided each other outside of Glee and did their best not to interact in Glee either. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when he started dating one of the Cheerios two weeks after he and Kurt returned to McKinley.<p>

Rachel walked into the choir room for the last practice before Regionals. She smiled softly when Noah sat beside her a few moments later. The two of them had been slowly repairing their friendship. They spent a few afternoons a week together alone and then the rest with their little group of soul-mates.

"So are we going to hear your super secret original song soon Rach?" Puck asked as he rested his arm on the back of her chair.

"Actually, Mr. Schuester and I have decided to save it for Nationals. I am going to be singing 'Here's to us' by Halestorm. It just seems fitting, considering everything we've been through this year." She replied with a smile.

"Great song," He commented. "Has Schuester whitewashed the lyrics yet?"

"Yes, well I don't believe that the Show Choir committee would appreciate that kind of language at a public event." She answered wryly.

Rachel looked up to see the rest of her friends piling in through the door. Santana fell back into the chair beside Rachel and sighed heavily.

"Sylvester is being crazier than usual." She explained tiredly.

"Bitch is scary." Puck supplied.

Rachel was happy to note that Finn's glare lacked the usual hostility when he walked in. She may have been a bit naive to hope that the breakup could be drama-free but he seemed to really like his new girlfriend Lynn. She had held her tongue about the fact that he had found another girl whose name rhymed with his own. No one else had though; the boy had been teased mercilessly.

Mr. Schuester led them all to the auditorium where they worked on their set list tirelessly. Their practice ending up going late into the night. None of them really minded because for most of them this would be their last Regionals and losing was not an option.

The following day the club met in the choir room early in the morning. McKinley had home school advantage because they had won Sectionals in their own building. Rachel could tell that everyone was nervous. She had heard the Warblers perform before but she wasn't worried. Sebastian was talented but he lacked Blaine's charisma and vocal supremacy. A fact that she announced aloud to soothe the nerves of her teammates.

She was standing backstage quietly warming up her voice. She smiled over at Kurt where he was standing with the rest of the group. He returned her smile and she couldn't help but feel glad that their friendship hadn't suffered in any way. He may not be a part of Santana's little group of soul-mates but he mattered to her greatly. She flashed Santana a thumbs up as her friend prepared to make her way onto the stage. Santana blew her a kiss. She didn't hear his footsteps approaching until he was right behind her.

"You're going to kill it." Noah's voice roused her from her thoughts.

She turned to face him with a smile on her face. Her eyes moved over his face for a few moments before answering him.

"Thank you Noah. I must admit that I'm not very concerned. I feel like we've done this so many times."

He grinned and stepped a bit closer to her. He had been very patient over the last month. He hadn't mentioned his feelings for her once since she asked him to be patient. He had just been there the way that he'd always been. Quietly supporting her through the remaining confusion and drama of her breakup.

She hadn't spent a lot of time evaluating her feelings for him. She knew that she had feelings for him, she just hadn't wanted to delve too deep while things were still raw with Finn.

"I got into NYU." He told her quietly.

The words washed over her and she felt the excitement bubble up inside of her. She squeaked with happiness before jumping into his arms. He laughed as he caught her and held her tight.

"I'm so proud of you Noah! I knew that you could do anything you decided to do!" She whispered happily in his ear and grinned when he hugged her more tightly in response.

After a moment of whispered congratulations, Noah placed her back on her feet and kissed her forehead. She grinned after him as he headed back towards the group. She heard the announcer calling them to the stage and she headed to the wings to watch The Troubletones perform their group number. She watched with pride as Santana killed the performance. The crowd was on their feet by the time the rest of the group joined them on stage for a very beautiful mashup of 'I believe I can fly' and 'Fly'.

Rachel danced with Noah as she sang her part of the chorus and couldn't help but grin every time she looked at him. She was so proud of him!

The crowd cheered loudly as their song ended, but quieted respectfully as the opening bars of 'Here's to us' began.

The choreography for her solo was much more relaxed. They had decided to switch songs at the last minute and it just felt right.

Rachel danced loosely with Santana and Quinn at her sides. The three smiling as Rachel began to sing.

**We could just go home right now  
>Or maybe we could stick around<br>For just one more drink  
>Oh yeah<strong>

She smiled over at the crowd and raised her hands for them to dance along with them.

**Get another bottle out  
>Let's shoot the breeze, sit back down<br>For just one more drink  
>Oh yeah<strong>

She moved to Noah and grabbed his hands. He wrapped an arm around her waist and held her hand, as he danced her around the stage. She sang to him and the smile that lit his features was blinding.

**Here's to us**  
><strong>Here's to love<strong>  
><strong>All the times the we messed up<strong>  
><strong>Here's to you<strong>  
><strong>Fill the glass<strong>  
><strong>Cause the last few days have gone too fast<strong>  
><strong>So let's give 'em hell<strong>  
><strong>Wish everybody will<strong>  
><strong>Here's to us<strong>  
><strong>Here's to us<strong>

She pulled away from Noah, but kept their hands clasped as she waved the rest of her friends over. Santana grabbed her other hand.

**We stuck it out this far together**  
><strong>Put our dreams through the shredder<strong>  
><strong>Let's toast cause things<strong>  
><strong>Got Better<strong>

Sam and Blaine took turns spinning her around the stage.

**And everything could change like that**  
><strong>And all these years go by so fast<strong>  
><strong>But nothing lasts<strong>  
><strong>Forever<strong>

Blaine spun her back into Noah's arms. They resumed dancing and their friends partnered off and did the same around the stage.

**Here's to us  
>Here's to love<br>All the times the we messed up  
>Here's to you<br>Fill the glass  
>Cause the last few nights have gone too fast<br>If they give you hell  
>Tell 'em to forget themselves<br>Here's to us  
>Here's to us<strong>

Rachel moved forwards on the stage and pointed at the audience who began to sing along.

**Here's to all that we kissed**  
><strong>And to all that we missed<strong>  
><strong>To the biggest mistakes<strong>  
><strong>That we just wouldn't trade<strong>

She felt herself being pulled into another dance and masked her shock, continuing to sing when she realised it was Finn. She sang the next words and the two of them smiled at each other, finally forgiving the other for the hurt of the last two months. He winked at her and she knew that someday they'd be friends again.

**Here's to us breaking up**  
><strong>Without us breaking down<strong>  
><strong>To whatever's coming our way<strong>

Rachel moved from his arms in time to belt the big note with her arms spread to the heavens.

**Here's to us**

The rest of the club began to sing quietly with her with matching grins. Their excitement spreading through the building, Rachel couldn't see a single person who wasn't smiling and singing along. They had this thing in the bag.

**Here's to us  
>Here's to love<br>All the times that we messed up  
>Here's to you<br>Fill the glass  
>Cause the past few days have gone too fast<br>So let's give 'em hell  
>Wish everybody will<br>Here's to us**

Rachel wrapped an arm around Quinn's shoulders and the other around Noah's waist. The group all hugged each other and sang with everything they had. They had finally figured it out, how to be a family.

**Here's to us**  
><strong>Here's to love<strong>  
><strong>All the times the we messed up<strong>  
><strong>Here's to you<strong>  
><strong>Fill the glass<strong>  
><strong>Cause the last few nights have gone too fast<strong>  
><strong>If they give you hell<strong>  
><strong>Tell 'em to forget themselves<strong>  
><strong>(Forget themselves)<strong>  
><strong>Here's to us<strong>  
><strong>(Here's to us)<strong>

Rachel smiled into the audience where she saw Mr. Schuester smiling with proud tears rolling down his face. She pointed at him and he pointed back.

**Here's to us**  
><strong>(Here's to us)<strong>  
><strong>Here's to us<strong>  
><strong>Here's to love<strong>

**Here's to us  
>(Wish everybody well)<strong>

Rachel felt tears of happiness rolling down her own face and squeezed her friends tighter when she realised that not a single eye on the stage was dry. They really had figured it out. Every single one of them.

**Here's to us**  
><strong>Here's to love<strong>  
><strong>Here's to us<strong>

Rachel felt herself being pulled away from Quinn and into Noah's arms as everyone paired off. Safely nestled in his arms with her back against his chest, she belted out that final note and sealed their fate.

**Here's to us**

When the Show Choir commissioner handed Rachel the trophy half an hour later not a single person was surprised. She could see her Fathers jumping up and down unabashedly in the front row.

"Here's to us!" Rachel yelled in unison with her friends and her teacher.

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><p>I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know please and thanks!<p> 


	31. A Beautiful Ending

**Here's the very last chapter of We Are Broken. Thank you to everyone who alerted/favourited, read and reviewed. I loved this fic and I'm so happy that so many people enjoyed it. I've had this chapter written for over a week but I haven't posted it. The reason this has taken so long is because I was unsure of whether to add an epilogue or not. I even threw around the idea of writing a sequel for a bit. But people have been asking for a sequel to Just The Way You Are and that hasn't happened yet so I decided not to do it at all for this fic. Also, for me I feel like this is the perfect way to end things. I dropped a hint a few chapters ago about the way that things would end, and I'm so happy that it all kind of fit together in the end. Enjoy the last chapter of We Are Broken!**

**I own nothing, but I have truly enjoyed writing this fic.**

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><p>Puck sat in the front row of the choir room and watched with a smile as Rachel nervously smoothed out her skirt. She was talking to Brad about the song that she would be performing for them once Schue arrived. She glanced over at him before turning away quickly with a blush. His grin widened as she avoided his eyes. He nodded to Santana and Sam as they took their seats on either side of him. Santana's grin matched his own so he assumed that she knew exactly what was going on. Sam was too busy flirting with Quinn to notice anything else. He decided that he'd probably get used to the two of them staring into each other's eyes when they all moved to New York in August. Rachel had burst into tears when she'd been informed that her little group of soul mates were joining her and Kurt in the fall. She had then burst into song. He hadn't bothered trying to find it anything other than adorable.<p>

Mr. Schuester walked into the classroom and headed straight to the risers. Puck snorted in amusement when he realised that Rachel had left nothing to chance and had told Schue her intentions before class. He watched fondly as she turned from Brad and headed to the microphone stand in the middle of the room. She glanced up at him once more and he smiled at her reassuringly.

Apparently she didn't feel the need to explain her performance because Brad started playing the piano as soon as everyone was settled. Rachel closed her eyes as she began to sing. He sat forward with his elbows on his knees as he took in her performance.

**You've been on my mind, I grow fonder every day  
>Lose myself in time just thinking of your face<br>God only knows why it's taken me so long to let my doubts go  
>You're the only one that I want<strong>

He smiled when she opened her eyes and looked directly at him. She took a breath and continued with her eyes on him.

**I don't know why I'm scared, I've been here before**  
><strong>Every feeling, every word, I've imagined it all<strong>  
><strong>You'll never know if you never try<strong>  
><strong>To forget your past and simply be mine<strong>

He watched as she swayed on the spot and was touched by her lack of theatricality. She had always gone all out whenever she sang to Finn and it had always seemed less real when she choreographed it beforehand. He loved that she didn't feel the need to perform for him.

**I dare you to let me be your, your one and only**  
><strong>Promise I'm worthy to hold in your arms<strong>  
><strong>So come on and give me a chance<strong>  
><strong>To prove I am the one who can walk that mile<strong>  
><strong>Until the end starts<strong>

It was the perfect song choice for their situation really. He had to give her props for finding a song that described how they both felt. The feelings and the insecurities all touched on.

**If I've been on your mind, you hang on every word I say  
>Lose yourself in time at the mention of my name<br>Will I ever know how it feels to hold you close  
>And have you tell me whichever road I choose you'll go<strong>

He noticed that her eyes were on his searchingly. She was expecting him to be surprised by her performance and he thought it was just about the cutest damn thing ever. He felt like he'd been waiting for this his whole life.

**I don't know why I'm scared 'cause I've been here before  
>Every feeling, every word, I've imagined it all<br>You'll never know if you never try  
>To forget your past and simply be mine<strong>

It had been a month and a half since Regionals. They had thrown themselves into prepping for Nationals. The two of them continued to spend time together as friends and he hadn't mentioned his feelings for her again. She had asked for patience and he was going to New York with her so he was willing to wait for her forever.

**I dare you to let me be your, your one and only**  
><strong>Promise I'm worthy to hold in your arms<strong>  
><strong>So come on and give me a chance<strong>  
><strong>To prove I am the one who can walk that mile<strong>  
><strong>Until the end starts<strong>

He would always remember the moment he realised that she was in love with him. He was 95% sure it was the moment she realised it as well.

**I know it ain't easy giving up your heart**  
><strong>I know it ain't easy giving up your heart<strong>

Two weeks ago she had found him in the auditorium working on a song that he had written. She had begged him to play it for her.

**Nobody's perfect**  
><strong>(I know it ain't easy giving up your heart)<strong>  
><strong>Trust me, I've learned it<strong>  
><strong>Nobody's perfect<strong>  
><strong>(I know it ain't easy giving up your heart)<strong>  
><strong>Trust me, I've learned it<strong>

She had taken her place next to him on the piano bench and patiently waited for him to begin. He had looked into her eyes and realised that she had no intention of leaving until he played for her.

**Nobody's perfect**  
><strong>(I know it ain't easy giving up your heart)<strong>  
><strong>Trust me, I've learned it<strong>  
><strong>Nobody's perfect<strong>  
><strong>(I know it ain't easy giving up your heart)<strong>  
><strong>Trust me I've learned it<strong>

After a moment of stubborn refusal he gave in. She had sat quietly as his fingers moved over the keys and sighed contentedly when his voice began to sing the lyrics that he had written. He had sung her a song of love, loss and redemption.

**So I dare you to let me be your, your one and only**  
><strong>I promise I'm worthy to hold in your arms<strong>  
><strong>So come on and give me a chance<strong>  
><strong>To prove I am the one who can walk that mile<strong>  
><strong>Until the end starts<strong>

When his voice dropped off and the melody had faded he finally looked over at her. He had expected to see pride in her eyes, but the emotion he found there had surprised him. She had never been able to hide a thing because of those eyes. When he looked into her beautiful brown orbs he finally saw what he had never expected to see there. He saw a love shining there that outshone any emotion he'd ever seen before. She had left quickly after congratulating him on a brilliant song. He had sat on that bench for the next two hours in total awe of the love he'd seen on her face.

**Come on and give me a chance**  
><strong>To prove I am the one who can walk that mile<strong>

Needless to say, he'd been waiting for this performance ever since.

**Until the end starts**

Her voice faded as the song came to a close. Everyone in the choir room was staring at her in awe. No one bothered with applause because they knew that she hadn't sung the song for them or even for herself.

Puck stood from his chair and moved towards her. He took in the unshed tears and the nervous blush on her cheeks. His hand reached out to cup her cheek and he stopped inches from her. The two of them stood there staring at each other for a few moments before either said anything.

"We've been through so much. Even before this year, you've always sort of been there and I just didn't see it. I didn't see you. But I do now Noah. I promise I do." She said earnestly.

"I know." He answered.

"And I'm just so sorry about everything that-" She began to apologize only to be cut off when his lips crashed against hers. The kiss was frenzied and full of need. It had been far too long sing the last time he'd had her lips against his. Their lips mashed together for a few moments before the need for air became undeniable. He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

"No more apologizing." He said gruffly.

Rachel smiled and ran a hand over his Mohawk affectionately.

"I love you." Rachel declared quietly.

"I know," He answered with a smirk. "I've known for awhile Babe."

She smacked his arm lightly.

"Noah! How do you know?"

He leaned down and captured her lips once more. Where the other kiss had been passionate and filled with need, this one was gentle and filled with love. He pulled back after a moment and kissed her forehead.

"The eyes baby. They don't hide a damn thing and they finally tell me the only thing I need to know," He smiled in a way that few people had ever seen. "I love you too Rach. More than anything."

"About fucking time!" yelled Santana and Blaine as Quinn and Sam said "Finally!"

Puck just smirked and flipped them the bird before claiming his girl's lips once more.

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed it. One more review to let me know what you think? Thanks again for all of the support!<strong>


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